Next up in our 90-in-90 series is second-year edge rusher Kyle Kennard! Let’s check out where he stands with the Chargers entering the 2026 season!
The Basics
Height: 6’5
Weight: 254 pounds
College: Georgia Tech/South Carolina
Experience: 1
Kennard starred for Riverside International Charter School where he earned a three-star rating as a high school prospect. Over other Division I offers, Kennard chose to stay in Georgia and attend Georgia Tech to continue his athletic career.
As a true freshman for the Yellowjackets,
Kennard saw time in six games and started half of them en route to recording 10 tackles and 2.5 sacks. He started a pair of games the following season while playing in a career-high 12 contests. Kennaed ended his sophomore season with 15 tackles, 3.4 tackles for loss, and two sacks.
In 2022, Kennard started nine contests while playing in 12 games total, once again notching career highs in tackles (36) and tackles for loss (4.5) to go with another two sacks.
The 2023 season was Kennard’s breakout season for the Yellowjackets as he led the team with 11 tackles for loss to go with six sacks, 54 tackles, an interception, and a pair of forced fumbles, both of which he also recovered. Following the season, he entered the transfer portal ahead of his final year of eligibility.
Kennard ended up committing to the University of South Carolina for the 2024 season with the intent of proving himself in the highly-regarded SEC.
After betting it all on himself, Kennard won big with a massive final collegiate season that saw him take home numerous postseason accolades, including Second-Team All-American, First-Team All-SEC, and the Bronco Nagurski Award (nation’s best defender). Starting all 12 games, Kennard recorded 28 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, and 11.5 sacks, good for eighth in the nation that season.
The Good
Kennard came into the league with an impressive resume, even if it was a one-hit wonder in the SEC. If it was easy to win Defensive Player of the Year in the SEC, everyone would do it.
He wins with a jab step that gets lineman to hesitate just enough for him to blow past. He’s developed a kit of moves that revolve around keeping himself clean and it helps that he naturally has a lengthy frame.
His college production speaks for itself, but now it’s up to him to find how he can translate his game to the NFL.
The Bad
Coming out of South Carolina, Kennard had the statistics that earned him numerous accolades, but his athletic profile was extremely underwhelming for a player of his stature. His 4.73 40 time is pretty abysmal for a premiere pass rusher.
On top of the lack of speed and explosion off the line, Kennard lacks ideal strength at the point of attack and will struggle immensely with top tier offensive tackles. He’s pretty boom-or-bust depending on how clean he can keep himself.
2026 Outlook
Kennard was surprisingly a healthy scratch for the majority of his rookie season and that was not what most expected when he was taken in the fourth round after being named SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2024. He eventually saw minimal game time later in the year, but there was no notable progression for him over the team’s 17-game regular season.
After losing Odafe Oweh, and drafting Akheem Mesidor, Kennard is in the same exact place as he was when his rookie year ended. He’s the team’s fifth pass rusher and will once again battle with 2024 UDFA Garmon Randolph for the next man up if any of the top four players in the room go down with an injury. And honestly that isn’t a foregone conclusion as Justin Eboigbe has been used as an emergency pass rusher before they’ve reached that low on the depth chart.
