[2022 Draft/1-15] Kenyon Green, G, Texas A&M

KENYON GREEN | Texas A&M 6037 | 323 lbs. | JR. Humble, Texas (Atascocita) 3/15/2001 (age 21.12) #55

BACKGROUND: Kenyon (ken-yen) Green, who has a younger sister, grew up in Humble, Texas (20 miles north of Houston) and played pee-wee football for his dad on the Outlaws select team. He attended Atascocita High and played for head coach Craig Stump, who played quarterback at Texas A&M (1984-87). Green saw immediate varsity reps as a freshman defensive lineman before moving to the offensive line. He started at left tackle as a sophomore, helping Atascocita to a 12-2 record and 456.3 yards per game. Green moved to right tackle for his final two seasons, earning All-American and All-State honors as a junior and senior. He also played center on the basketball team and threw shot put (personal-best 49’2.5) in track at Atascocita.

A five-star recruit out of high school, Green was the No. 3 ranked offensive tackle in the 2019 recruiting class (No. 15 recruit overall) and the No. 1 recruit in the state of Texas (ahead of his Aggies’ teammate DL DeMarvin Leal and Ohio State WR Garrett Wilson). He found himself at the top of the recruiting rankings as a high school sophomore and initially committed to LSU after the 2016 season. Green still went on visits and considered Texas, Oklahoma and others before flipping to Texas A&M after Jimbo Fisher was hired as head coach (and offensive line coach Jim Turner was retained). His father (Henry) played offensive guard at Grambling State. His mother (Shalonda) played volleyball at UCLA. Green elected to skip his senior season of eligibility and the Aggies’ bowl game to enter the 2022 NFL Draft.

STRENGTHS: Wide, balanced mover with plus body control ... owns heavy, physical hands to stun his target and control the chest of defenders ... able to engage and lock out with NFL-quality functional strength ... picks up pressures from depth and sinks at contact to stop rushers cold ... explosive out of his stance with the mobility to effectively pull, trap, reach and execute combinations ... allowed only one sack over the last two seasons ... competes with the right mentality — he’s mean and doesn’t apologize for it ... both of his parents were collegiate athletes ... aside from skipping the 2021 bowl game, he played in every game the last three seasons and spread his 35 starts across four positions (left guard, right guard, left tackle, right tackle).

WEAKNESSES: His hands tend to play ahead of his feet, resulting in excessive leaning ... shows several bad habits in the run game like ducking his head and letting his hands get wide, leaving him off-balanced and sometimes on the ground ... tends to open his inside hip when countering, which gives rushers an open lane ... needs to settle his feet while resetting his vision/hands vs. rangy pass rushers ... was a flag magnet throughout his career, including seven penalties in 2021 (six holding calls, one false start).

SUMMARY: A three-year starter at Texas A&M, Green played the majority of his snaps at left guard in head coach Jimbo Fisher’s balanced offensive attack. After starting at right guard as a freshman and left guard as a sophomore, he was the only returning starter on the offensive line as a junior and was asked to fill in across the line, becoming the only NCAA player with 80-plus snaps at four different offensive line positions in 2021. A wide-based blocker, Green flashes explosive traits and physical hands to create movement in the run game or anchor in pass protection. Although he can catch himself thanks to his center of gravity, he will make things more difficult for himself with lunging tendencies. Overall, Green must fix the bad habits and penalties at the next level, but he does a great job staying balanced before and after contact with the mobility and brawling mentality to win his matchups. He should establish himself as a dependable starting guard early in his NFL career.