5 things to know about new Packers OL Darian Kinnard

The Green Bay Packers agreed to send a late-round draft pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for offensive lineman Darian Kinnard on Sunday, helping bolster depth up front after injuries and uninspiring play from the backups hit the offensive line this summer.

Per Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Packers gave up a sixth-round pick in the 2027 draft to get Kinnard, a 25-year-old who measures 6-5 and 322 pounds. He is entering his fourth NFL season after being selected in the 2022 NFL draft.

Five quick things to know about the Packers' new offensive lineman:

Kinnard visited Green Bay before 2022 draft

The Packers brought Kinnard to Green Bay for one of the team's 30 visits before the 2022 draft. Under Brian Gutekunst, the Packers have rarely tried to hide their intentions with pre-draft visits. When a player visits the Packers before a draft, the chances of that player becoming a Packer rises substantially. Kinnard also participated at the Senior Bowl, another important event for the Packers. The Kansas City Chiefs ended up selecting Kinnard at No. 145 overall in the fifth round, just five picks after the Packers took Zach Tom.

One start, three Super Bowls

Kennard has appeared in only three regular season games with just one start, but he's been a part of three straight Super Bowl champions. He was on the 53-man roster of the Chiefs in 2022, the practice squad of the Chiefs in 2023 and the 53-man roster of the Eagles in 2024. His lone start came with the Eagles in the season finale last year when Philadelphia rested starters. Kinnard played 68 snaps at right tackle against the New York Giants.

Consensus All-American, award winner

A big-time recruit out of Ohio for Kentucky, Kinnard ended up playing in 46 games -- including making 39 consecutive starts -- and becoming a decorated player for the Wildcats. In 2021, he was named a consensus first-team All-American, becoming just the 12th consensus All-American in Kentucky's history and the first offensive lineman since 1965. Pro Football Focus gave Kinnard elite blocking grades during each of his final two seasons, and he was one of the highest graded offensive linemen in college football in 2021. That same year, Kentucky was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award, which is given out to the best offensive line in college football, and Kinnard won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, given to the SEC's best blocker. Per Kentucky, Kinnard had a team-high 30 "knockdown" blocks in 2021.

Athleticism is average

Kinnard doesn't fit the typical athletic profile of a Packers offensive lineman, with poor testing numbers in the jumps (vertical, broad) and agility drills (short shuttle, 3-cone). The testing might explain why the Packers didn't take Kinnard during the 2022 draft. However, the team cares less about the athletic profile of a player once they've been in the NFL. At 6-5 and 322 pounds, Kinnard moves more like a guard, and the Eagles cross-trained him at guard and tackle. At Kentucky, Kinnard played over 2,300 snaps at right tackle, and he's been a right-side player only at the NFL level. The Packers may see him as a guard who can play tackle in a pinch.

Preseason experience

While inexperienced in the regular season, Kinnard has played plenty of preseason football during his first four seasons. Across 472 preseason snaps (187 at right guard, 285 at right tackle), Kinnard has earned mostly average grades from PFF: 57.0 in 2022, 56.8 in 2023, 64.7 in 2024 and 62.9 in 2025. Dating back to college, Kinnard's run-blocking grades have always been better than his pass-blocking grades. He's allowed 17 pressures, including three quarterback hits, across 302 pass-blocking snaps during the preseason. One big positive for Kinnard: he's rarely penalized. Despite playing over 2,500 snaps at the college level and almost 500 more in the preseason, Kinnard has only been penalized seven times over his collegiate and professional career. He also wasn't penalized in his lone regular season start.

A few fun facts: Kinnard is related to legendary country music star Dolly Parton via his aunt...Kinnard was selected to play in the prestigous U.S. Army All-American Game coming out of high school...Was a kinesiology major at Kentucky and wants to train athletes after playing career is over.

This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: 5 things to know about new Packers OL Darian Kinnard