THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – It hasn't taken long in training camp and the preseason for the Rams to learn that rookie defensive back Kamren Kinchens is someone they will count on to contribute in the regular season.
After Kinchens played in the preseason opener, he didn't see any action against the Cowboys last Saturday – but for good reason.
"He's done a great job," McVay on Sunday said of Kinchens. "It was really one of those deals that we didn't feel like it was necessary to expose him to possible injury (by withholding him from practice last week and last Saturday's preseason game). He's going to be a guy that's going to be a factor for us. So until he was feeling all the way back to health, that was why we erred on the side of caution. We expect him to get a full workload with the two practices here and then the one on Thursday against the Texans (in Houston)."
Kinchens' most-discussed trait on draft night was his range, and he showed it several times throughout training camp. In the first joint practice with the Cowboys, he displayed his physicality and concept recognition on a couple of plays: Deflecting a Cooper Rush pass that linebacker Troy Reeder corralled for the interception, and later delivering a big hit on a receiver running a slant route toward the sideline in redzone drills.
Kinchens credits his early growth and development to the rest of his teammates, especially the more experienced ones.
They help him out "in every way," and also hold him accountable. Kinchens said they don't "baby him" through any of it, they just make sure he knows what's going on. They also make sure he's the one communicating when they are on the field so they aren't the ones telling him what the play is.
"They already know what the plays is," Kinchens told theRams.com. "So when I'm out there with them, 'Kam, you the loudest, like you got to be one hearing it out, like we know what's going on, you got to make sure you know what's going on.' So it's just them holding me accountable, and me holding myself accountable. Just making sure anytime I can get some extra work in – it don't have to be physically, but just mentally – just getting the plays down, that's what I'm doing."
Rams general manager Les Snead on last Saturday's preseason broadcast said Kinchens has "definitely earned his equity and trust," which can be tough to earn at a position like safety for a rookie between having to know the playcalls and needing to get players lined up. Kinchens, according to Snead, has proven he can do both.
Pass game coordinator/assistant head coach Aubrey Pleasant said Kinchens' attention to detail is "probably a little bit above par" compared to standard rookies. It's evident not only that the game is important for him and to him, but also that he embodies the physical and mental toughness, football IQ and love to compete the team looks for in its players. Pleasant said Kinchens came off of some injuries going into OTAs, so the coaching staff "really tried to take our time with his progress and his process."
Beyond those traits, Kinchens' recall was also very good, according to Pleasant.
"Had some skill learn to him to where you could tell him to do something, and he can go out there actually do it," Pleasant said. "A guy with his size to be stout and physical in the run game and still be able to have some good ball production in the pass game was something that we saw on tape, and we felt like the things that he didn't do maybe well, or maybe some of the things that people docked him for, (were) all things that were coachable. And we felt like with a mixture between myself, (safeties) coach (Chris) Beake, (defensive assistant) coach Mike Harris, and the scheme that we're trying to implement here with (defensive coordinator) coach (Chris) Shula, that this guy would be a good fit to grow in the system. And I think he's grown a little faster than maybe what we would've expected, but that's a good thing."
Kinchens believes he's a do-it-all safety, and having the ability to showcase that is what he likes most about Shula's defense. That system also gives him multiple opportunities to make plays.
"And that's what I want to do, is make plays," he said.
Expectations are set in a way that allows young players on the Rams' roster to grow, and that's no different for Kinchens, especially with what he had overcome physically in college, according to Pleasant.
Regular season football is a different level of competition compared to preseason games and joint practices; consequently, Pleasant has calibrated expectations for Kinchens accordingly. Based on what Pleasant has seen so far, Kinchens is moving in the right direction from that baseline.
"So because of the way he's been playing, I still have the expectations very low, because I'm still waiting for real football," Pleasant said. "But based off what he's shown in joint practices, preseason games, and in our practice, there's nothing that tells me he won't continue to take those steps in the right direction when real Sunday football shows up."
