Boom or Bust of Browns’ Derrick Kindred
Will Derrick Kindred be able to fill the shoes of departed veteran Donte Whitner and Boom for the Browns? Or will his struggles in downfield pass coverage doom him to Bust?
The Cleveland Browns created some monster holes in the secondary this offseason by letting Tashaun Gipson walk off to Jacksonville and releasing veteran safety Donte Whitner. The Browns were left thin at safety after letting the two veterans go. With Ibraheim Campbell showing enough promise to hold down one of the safety spots for 2016, the Browns signed Rahim Moore to help fill the other void. With Moore and Campbell anything but sure things, the Browns went out and grabbed safety prospect Derrick Kindred in round four (pick 129 overall). Known for being a monster hitter in the secondary, could Kindred bring back the boom from the safety position that has been missing since TJ Ward left for Denver? Or will Kindred just end up being a trivia question on local tv shows? Here is the boom or bust for Derrick Kindred.
Why Kindred will Boom for the Browns:
How can you not love the toughness Kindred brings to this secondary. Kindred reportedly played with a broken collarbone throughout most of the 2015 season. Not only did he play with a broken collarbone, but he also played well enough to be named to the All-Big Twelve first team. At the combine Kindred put up impressive numbers with a 4.50 forty and seventeen reps on the bench. Kindred is an aggressive safety who lives for the big hit. He will make recievers think twice before coming across the middle. Not only has Kindred been known to be a monster hitter, but he can also hold his own in the short and intermediate pass coverage game. In the past two season Kindred has defended over twenty passes and has eight interceptions. What coaches will likely love most about Kindred is that he relishes the opportunity to go out and play on special teams. Any chance Kindred gets to lay somebody out, he takes it.
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Why Kindred will Bust for the Browns:
Kindred has some major areas of concern that come along with him. Though he will bring the hammer down without hesitation it has also caused him to miss a lot of tackles during his collegiate career, with sixteen of them coming last year alone. Kindred will need to work on the fundamentals of tackling and learn to wrap up. Kindred will need to take better angles to the ball carriers at the next level, because diving arm tackles will not work in the NFL as well as they did at TCU. Though Kindred is decent in pass coverage in the short and intermediate areas, he struggles when he is asked to cover on deep balls.
Will Kindred Boom or Bust:
Kindred is the kind of player you love to have on your team. Like Reggie Ragland in this draft, Kindred is an old school bust you up type player that made the sport so popular in the past. With all the responsibilities of safeties in todays game it is hard to see Kindred finding any sustained success unless he is able to help defend better against the deep ball. Even with all the concerns with Kindred’s deep pass coverage skills I can’t help but see a little TJ Ward in him. I think Ward is the ceiling for Kindred if he is able to take to NFL coaching and eliminate some of his glaring weaknesses.
For a fourth round pick with some nice potential and serious toughness I believe there is a place for a player like Kindred and he will boom in the NFL one way or another. Kindred does not need to become the starting safety to make an impact on this roster. With Johnson Bademosi gone and Marlon Moore not likely to make the team this year, the Browns are going to need some special teams coverage guys to fill their void, and that is where Kindred could make his biggest impact early in his career.
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