Packers learning what Eagles didn't know they had in former backup

When the Philadelphia Eagles traded offensive lineman Darian Kinnard to the Green Bay Packers last month, they expected him to be more of a backup; however, he ended up playing a much bigger role in the opening weekend.

During the Packers' 27-13 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday, one of Green Bay's starters on the offensive line, Zach Tom, got injured in the game. That led to Kinnard stepping in Tom's place the rest of the game.

According to Pro Football Focus, Kinnard posted an overall grade of 57.2, ranking 45th of 76 qualified offensive tackles. He also had a pass block grade of 31.5 (67th) and a run block grade of 61 (29th).

Kinnard finished with 15 snaps on offense and another five on special teams. He played 31% of the offensive snaps in their win.

One Packers writer would disagree with PFF's grades

Some might look at the PFF grade and believe that Kinnard did not have a great debut with the Packers. The Athletic's Matt Schneidman disagreed with this assessment, praising Kinnard for his performance.

"Something I didn’t expect to see yesterday was Darian Kinnard pulling from right tackle and moving bodies in the run game."

Kinnard is familiar with what a winning team looks like, though, after being selected in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. He won two Super Bowls with Kansas City and won a third with the Eagles last year. Three years, three Super Bowls. Not a bad start to his career.

Last year, Kinnard appeared in just two games for the Eagles and did make a start in the season finale against the New York Giants. While some might not remember his play on the field, they do know that he is a winner.

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The Eagles fan base is happy to see Kinnard have success early on in his tenure with the Packers, but they hope he doesn't keep the trend going of winning Super Bowls.