PROSPECT SUMMARY - JOSHUA KAINDOH

Florida State EDGE Joshua Kaindoh was a prized high school recruit but his career was derailed due to injuries that limited him to just 10 total starts and under 400 snaps played in every season. With that said, he has an exciting toolbox of traits to develop should he stay healthy at the next level, where he projects best as a 4-3 base end. Kaindoh has a stocky frame with long arms and a thick lower half. As a pass rusher, his length, pass-rush repertoire, and stride length help make him effective. However, he lacks ideal twitch, bend, and timing with his moves at this point in his development. As a run defender, Kaindoh has the size, length, and functional strength to be effective but he has to become a more consistent processor. Kaindoh’s best football might be ahead of him, but he needs to develop and stay healthy. He has NFL starter traits but there is plenty of work needed for him to claim that type of role. His tools make him a chance worth taking.

Ideal Role: Base end.

Scheme Fit: 4-3.

FILM EVALUATION

Written by: Joe Marino

Games watched: Pittsburgh (2020), North Carolina (2020), Notre Dame (2020), ULM (2019), Boise State (2019), Virginia (2019)

Best Game Studied: North Carolina (2020)

Worst Game Studied: Notre Dame (2020)

First-Step Explosiveness: Kaindoh is fluid out of his stance but not overly rapid. He eats up considerable ground with his stride length up the arc when attacking the near hip. His long strides help him overcome ordinary quickness off the ball.

Flexibility: Kaindoh won’t be confused as an agile or bendy pass rusher, but his fluidity relative to his frame and playing style is sufficient. Overall, he isn’t sudden or twitchy and is more of a slow burn pass rusher. He requires angles to be fully greased to work around the edges of blockers.

Hand Counters: Kaindoh has adequate rush variety where he features a good bull rush, dip/rip, swim move, swipes, and stabs. His initial moves are deployed with good timing and placement. The challenge for Kaindoh comes when his initial rush plan stalls and how/when to activate those secondary counters.

Length: Kaindoh has vines for arms which shows up primarily as a pass rusher where he’s able to stress the reach of blockers and work off their over-extension. He flashes the ability to play with extension against the run and set firm edges while maintaining outside leverage.

Hand Power: Kaindoh has plenty of pop in his hands and his swipes are violent enough to clear his pads. He does well to stabilize reps at the point of attack with the power in his hands, enabling him to control the down. The challenge for Kaindoh in maximizing that pop in his punch is being more consistent with timing and placement of his hands.

Run Defending: Kaindoh was a sufficient run defender in college but was rarely dominant. There were too many reps where he was too far up the field and created easy run lanes for the offense. When he is disciplined, Kaindoh has the length and power to compete for his gap but he has to become a better processor.

Effort: I never questioned Kaindoh’s effort on tape. He competes on every snap, he just doesn’t have the speed to always find himself around the football in pursuit.

Football IQ: Injuries limited Kaindoh to just 10 starts in college and never more than 400 snaps in any season. With that in mind, he hasn’t developed natural instincts for defending the run and there are timing issues with his pass-rush plan. His lack of reps shows up on tape where you are often left wanting more.

Lateral Mobility: Kaindoh is best in condensed spaces and his range is limited. He isn’t a candidate to play in space with regularity and his lateral pursuit to the sideline is segmented.

Versatility: Florida State gave Kaindoh chances to function in a three-point stance and from a stand-up position but he’s best with his hand in the dirt. Kaindoh projects best to a 4-3 defense that features compression-style defensive ends. He has appeal as a run defender and pass rusher but he needs development in both phases.

Prospect Comparison: Tyler Brayton (2003 NFL Draft, Oakland Raiders)