HERMOSA BEACH, Calif. – They overlapped for a season at Miami (Florida) Northwestern High School. Now, they're teammates again in the NFL with the Rams.
They would be wide receiver Tutu Atwell and new Rams defensive back Kamren Kinchens, with Atwell amongst the friends and family celebrating Kinchens after being drafted 99th overall in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft by Los Angeles Friday night.
"He was posting a highlight of him at Louisville, and I was just saying I would lock him up," Kinchens said. "Now we get to compete together in practice."
Both were likely equally shocked the Rams were a possible landing spot for Kinchens, especially with how the pre-draft process went.
"It was a surprise," Kinchens said. "We didn't really communicate too much."
In fact, the communication was so minimal, Kinchens will be learning the Rams defense for the first time without having any prior knowledge of it. Kitchens said that with other teams, you could get on Zoom calls with them during the pre-draft process and be able to learn their defense, but he never got a chance to do that with the Rams.
Of course, that doesn't mean learning it will be a chore for him.
"I can learn anything, man, I'm a football junkie," "So when I get into the building, I'm giving everything I got."
Kinchens admitted some stuff on Day 2 of the draft didn't go the way he expected it to, but he's excited about his opportunity with the Rams.
"They gave me the opportunity of a lifetime," Kinchens said.
