2024 7th Round Pick #255 Overall Kalen King - CB - Penn St.

[MadScientist]

It's not like Gunter is the only "slow" CB they've had.

https://ras.football/2019/12/24/casey-hayward-ras/

FWIW, Gunter was slow and out of his depth trying to be a CB1 covering Julio in the NFCCG. He'd have been fine as your CB4 though.
We're about to find out if Hafley & Co. are any good at developing defensive backs.

Kalen and Casey are in a different league than Gunter https://ras.football/2020/01/06/ladarius-gunter-ras/

[run pMc]

I don't think King is as slow as Gunter. King is a better athlete overall

https://ras.football/ras-compare/?&p1=12045&p2=25015&pos=CB

I think he'll be fine in coverage most of the time, but I wouldn't want him on an island covering some burner like Xavier Worthy. Matched up against a guy like that you'd let him press the hell out of him and roll a safety over the top.

Bobble -- 100% agree. For a while I wondered about why people were burying Kamren Kinchens pre-draft for running a 4.65 when McKinney ran a 4.62. Having good instincts/football IQ and not taking false steps can make up for a relative lack of speed. As we saw with uber-athletic guys like Darnell Savage, the speed doesn't mean a lot if you can't make the tackle.

There is no downside to taking a flier on a guy like this at pick 255.

[Fritz]

When did Kinchens go? I was hoping the Packers might be able to land him in the middle rounds or something. He just makes plays.

[smuggler]

The Rams picked Kinchens up at #99 at the back end of the third round.

[Fritz]

So many permutations in this draft. Take DeJean, lose out on Edgerrin Cooper, but maybe pick up a different linebacker instead of Bullard at safety, then get Kinchens in the third?

Ah, hell. We'll just have to wait and see how this all works out.

[Joemailman]

Interesting article of conversation with Terry Smith, King's CB coach at Penn St.

https://www.si.com/nfl/packers/colle...n-01hyc59yn4a3

In 2022, King ranked third nationally with 21 passes defensed. In 2023, he had only two. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed a completion percentage of 45.8 percent in 2022 compared to 61.0 percent in 2023. However, in 12 games, he allowed 45-plus yards in only two. And in his final three games, PFF charged him with zero completions allowed.

“He wasn’t bad at all. He just didn’t produce the numbers in coverage,” Smith said. “Like I said, he didn’t give up a touchdown. In our world, that’s first and foremost because, when they don’t score, they can’t win. And so he played really well; just not as well as he did. He was an All-American the year before (but) Kalen was still great for us.”“

He’s going to make it because he’s a consistent football player and he loves the game,” Smith said. “One of the challenges we face in today’s game is people want attention, people want social media, people want all the other reasons. This guy loves football and he’s driven to be successful. Now that the draft has taken place, there’s another built-in chip on his shoulder and he’s really motivated to succeed.”

[RashanGary]

Well, I’ve seen these dumb ass attention whores literally make that their career as well and he had the vibe of those guys when I listened to him.

I damn well might be dead wrong on this one. Just met a couple real retards who had his kind of energy.