NFL Analysis
3/13/24
4 min read
Kalen King NFL Draft 2024: Combine Results, Scouting Report For Penn State CB
The 2024 NFL Draft is getting close, making it an excellent time to highlight some of the class' best players with scouting reports. Each report will include strengths, weaknesses and background information.
Here's our report on Kalen King.
Kalen King's 2024 NFL COMBINE RESULTS
- Height: 5'11"
- Weight: 190 lbs
- 40-Time: 4.61
- 10-Yard Split: 1.54
- Vertical: 37"
- Broad Jump: 10'2"
- 3-Cone: DNP
- Shuttle: 4.16
Kalen King 2024 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT
STRENGTHS:
- A versatile CB who plays both sides of the field (field and boundary) with a good mix of press and off-alignment.
- Comfortable corner in man and zone coverage – sees the field well and from off alignment.
- Natural feel for coverage schemes. Adjusts his technique based on the coverage (two-man with trail technique).
- Aggressive, physical CB who plays bigger than his size in run support and quick pass game.
- Very good tackler who attacks downhill, playing aggressively in space to close down running lanes.
- Instinctive CB who does a good job of pattern and route concept recognition in zone schemes.
- Good lateral quickness to change direction and accelerate to stick with WRs out of their breaks in coverage.
- Solid ball skills show when tracking vertical passes and closing on short and intermediate routes.
WEAKNESSES:
- A slight build affects his ability to handle bigger, physical receivers in contest catches (jump balls/back shoulder).
- More quick than fast. He lacks the true top-end speed to recover down the field in coverage at times.
- Struggled from press alignment due to choppy footwork at LOS, resulting in quick separation off ball.
- Can get caught flat-footed from off alignment when attacked by vertical stems, affecting his ability to redirect.
NFL TRANSITION:
King has experience playing both sides of the field and as the field or boundary corner, providing good position versatility for NFL schemes. He has a good playing personality in how he competes and plays with an edge in coverage and as a tackler in run support.
King possesses the skills to play from pressed and off alignment in man and zone coverage. He's an instinctual corner who pattern recognizes in zone coverage to trade off routes and reduce throwing lanes. His short-area quickness and acceleration skills are good enough to redirect in coverage to close passing lanes.
He showed a good feel for staying in phase with receivers when running vertically downfield and then the ball skills to get his head around to locate the football. Sometimes, King gets caught flat-footed at the point of contact from press alignments and at the top of wide receiver's routes from off alignment. This results in initial separation out of breaks, which can be worked on in regards to technique.
Overall, King possesses a good mix of physicality and athleticism to be a contributor in Year 1. He can develop into a good outside starting CB, especially with his alignment and coverage versatility.
OTHER NOTES:
King came out of Michigan as a 3-star recruit and was ranked 15th in the Nation at cornerback. He started his last two years at Penn State and was a second-team All-Big Ten and third-team All-American selection by PFF in 2022. King finished his career with 82 total tackles, 5.5 TFL, 3 INTs, and 28 PBUs. He led the Big Ten and was third nationally with 21 PBUs in 2022.
In 2022, King played a good amount of snaps from pressed alignment, engaging WRs or bailing at the snap depending on the coverage scheme and responsibility (118 of his 338 total coverage snaps). He allowed only a 32.1 percent completion rate from pressed alignment (9 of 28 for 153 yards with zero touchdowns, two interceptions and nine pass breakups).
In 2023, King played an even higher percentage of snaps from press (108 of his 258 total coverage snaps). He allowed only a 41.2 percent completion rate from pressed alignment (7 of 17 for 100 yards with zero touchdowns and one pass breakup).
Between 2022 and 2023, King played an almost even split of man and zone coverage. He played 252 snaps of zone (allowed a 51.7 percent completion rate, 140 yards with five pass breakups and one interception) and 240 snaps of Man (allowed only a 33.3 percent completion rate, 239 yards with two interceptions and 11 pass breakups).
