The Los Angeles Chargers executed a very disciplined draft. They addressed the team’s biggest needs — offensive firepower — with the first two picks. They then addressed the next biggest need with their subsequent two picks — the defensive line.
Fourth-rounder, Kyle Kennard, edge rusher from South Carolina, was picked to address the team’s lack of pass rush potency. While becoming the first South Carolina player to win the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the nation’s top defensive player, he led the SEC with 11.5 sacks, falling just shy of Jadeveon Clowney’s school single-season sack record (13).
The Chargers posted the 7th worst pressure percentage in the NFL last season, despite having future Hall of Famer Khalil Mack, anchoring the pass rush, and young up-and-comer Tuli Tuipulotu as his complement.
Matt Miller of ESPN, in his recent ranking of the Top 100 draft picks, sees Kennard as someone who can develop into an eventual Mack replacement. He ranks Kennard as the 49th best pick
49. Kyle Kennard, Edge, Los Angeles Chargers (Pick 4-125)
“Kennard was impossible to miss on South Carolina’s defense, setting the tone with his energy and pass-rush relentlessness. The Chargers need a successor to Khalil Mack on the edge, and Kennard will get an early chance to show that he can fill that role.”
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler gave Kennard a fourth round grade and ranked him as the 22nd best pass rusher in the 2025 NFL Draft class, writing, Kennard has work to do developing his counters and becoming more consistent on run downs to reach his NFL potential, but he brings energetic speed off the edge when he can pin his ears back. He projects as a passing-down specialist, and his role can evolve from there.
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