Bengals have 'extensive' interest in Cincinnati native who drew attention from team executives during local pro day
Drafting a running back on the third day of the NFL Draft seems inevitable for the Cincinnati Bengals. A deep class at the position coincides with Cincinnati's need for a young complement to Chase Brown in the backfield. Could a Cincinnati Bearcat be the answer? There appears to be smoke. Per The Draft Network's Ryan […]
Drafting a running back on the third day of the NFL Draft seems inevitable for the Cincinnati Bengals. A deep class at the position coincides with Cincinnati's need for a young complement to Chase Brown in the backfield.
Could a Cincinnati Bearcat be the answer? There appears to be smoke.
Per The Draft Network's Ryan Fowler, the Bengals are one of a few teams to have shown "extensive" interest in Kiner leading up to the draft.
Kiner was born and raised in St. Bernard, just a few miles north of downtown Cincinnati. He developed into the No. 1 running back recruit in Ohio but decided to leave the state to play for LSU. He then transferred back home to play for UC, much like Luke Kandra, and spent his final three college years mere minutes from his home.
The Bearcats leaned on Kiner during Scott Satterfield's first two years as head coach from 2023-24. Kiner ran for exactly 2,200 yards and nine touchdowns on 396 attempts over the course of both seasons, leading the team in rushing for both years.
The scouting report on Kiner is rather simple. He's a power runner who normally sheds the first tackler, but lacks the desired breakaway speed and is a tad undersized. He measured in at 5-9 and 209 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine and ran a 4.57 40-yard dash at that size. His hand size of 7 3/4" was also notably small.
Kiner was also invited to the Bengals' local pro day held this past Tuesday. While there, he was seen talking with Executive Vice President Katie Blackburn and Director of Strategy & Engagement Elizabeth Blackburn as well as running backs coach Justin Hill.
The stars are certainly aligning for Kiner to stay in his hometown to start his NFL career. The 23-year old is projected to be picked in the final two rounds of the draft if he's to hear his name called at all. The Bengals have just three selections to work with next Saturday, including a sixth-rounder at No. 193 overall.
The sheer depth of this RB class with 20 in the top 200 according to the A to Z Sports Mock Draft Database could push Kiner and others further down the board and potentially out of the draft entirely. They would definitely have interest in signing Kiner as a priority free agent, but they wouldn't be alone in that pursuit..
Being the hometown team may be the advantage that keeps Kiner in Cincinnati.
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