All eyes have been on Jared Verse and Braden Fiske as the premier players from the Rams’ 2024 draft class, but it’s third-round safety Kamren Kinchens who’s won two rookie awards in the last three weeks.
Kinchens, the two-time NFC Defensive Player of the Week, has taken his game to another level in the last month. It’s not just by chance, either. He’s been putting in the work and it’s paying off for the young safety.
Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula shared a cool tidbit Thursday about Kinchens’ dedication to improving, telling reporters that the safety has come in early and stayed late for the last month or so, spending extra time with assistant head coach Aubrey Pleasant and safeties coach Chris Beake.
“The coolest thing about that is for the last four or five weeks, he’s been coming in and meeting with ‘Aub’ and Beake extra. Almost every single night, every single morning, he’s in there,” Shula said. “You just see that progression and how he’s becoming more and more comfortable and you can see him communicating more comfortably.”
KAM SAID BALL GAME!
📺: @NFLonFOX | #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/zODAJV4LWs
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 17, 2024
The Rams have dealt with injuries at safety this season, as they have at most positions. John Johnson III is on injured reserve and Kam Curl dealt with a knee injury that caused his snaps to be limited from Week 8-10.
Kinchens’ continued progression has made a big difference for the Rams, with the rookie pulling in three interceptions, forcing a fumble and recording a tackle for a loss in the last three weeks.
“Kam Curl ended up missing some practice with the knee injury, so he ended up getting a bunch of practice reps,” Shula said of Kinchens. “It was after the Vikings game when Kam went down with the knee and he ended up getting a bunch of practice reps. You just saw the growth throughout practice, and then he ends up going into the Seattle game and making plays and gaining confidence. So I think it’s just the confidence, the hard work that he’s put in and he’s seeing that hard work pay off and that just continues to elevate his performance.”
As any rookie does, Kinchens has gone through some first-year growing pains. He struggled a bit earlier in the season but he’s continued to improve, take better angles and put himself in position to make plays.
For a guy who had 11 interceptions in college, he’s certainly living up to his reputation as a ball hawk in the NFL with three picks in the last three games alone.