Darian Kinnard Headed to Super Bowl LIX with Philadelphia Eagles
Offensive lineman Darian Kinnard is headed to his third straight Super Bowl, his first with Philadelphia, as the Eagles take on his former Kansas City Chiefs team in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, Feb. 9. Kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. ET at the Ceasars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The game will be televised on Fox.
Kinnard, who played at Kentucky from 2018-21, is in his first year with the 14-3 Eagles after being part of the Kansas City Chiefs organization his first two years in the NFL. The Chiefs won the Super Bowl each of the past two seasons.
During his Wildcat career, the Knoxville, Tennessee native, played in 46 career games with 39 consecutive starts. He was an essential component to the Big Blue Wall, which has been under consideration for the Joe Moore Award, given to the nation’s top offensive line, four of the last six seasons, including finalists in 2021.
As a senior, he was named a consensus first-team All-American, earning first-team honors from Football Writers Association of America, Associated Press, American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Football Foundation, CBS/247sports, Phil Steele and the Senior Bowl. He was a second-team All-American by Pro Football Focus, The Sporting News, USA Today and The Athletic. He was one of only three Power Five conference tackles to grade at 85 percent or better as a run blocker and pass blocker by Pro Football Focus. He was a consensus first-team All-SEC selection.
Kinnard was awarded the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, just the second Kentucky player to win the award, which annually has been given to the SEC’s top blocker since 1935. He also was a semifinalist for both the 2021 Rotary Lombardi Award, given to an offensive or defensive lineman who combines outstanding performance on the field with the character and discipline of NFL Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, and the Outland Trophy, given to the nation’s most outstanding interior lineman.
Kinnard was a four-year letterman and three-year starter, helping the Wildcats to some of their greatest seasons and most memorable victories in school history. He blocked for three of the top 11 running backs in school history – UK career rushing leader Benny Snell Jr., Chris Rodriguez Jr., and A.J. Rose. He also played a key role in the magical 2019 season, when Lynn Bowden Jr. rushed for 1,468 yards, almost all of it in the last eight games when he converted from wide receiver to quarterback.
Kentucky won the VRBO Citrus Bowl, Belk Bowl and TaxSlayer Gator Bowl during Kinnard’s term with the Wildcats. In addition to first-team All-America honors as a senior, he was second-team All-America as a junior. He was first-team All-Southeastern Conference in both of those seasons.
UK has had 33 Wildcats play for teams that advanced to the Super Bowl a total of 45 times.
Carwell Gardner leads the list with four Super Bowl appearances with Buffalo. Kinnard has three (two Super Bowls with Kansas City and one with the Eagles) along with Larry Seiple (three Super Bowls with Miami) and Jacob Tamme (three appearances with Denver, Indianapolis and Atlanta).
Overall, 17 Wildcats have won a total of 20 Super Bowl rings.
