Derek Kennard Madden Career 1994-1996 - Peak 90 OVR

Derek Kennard took the long road, out of Nevada-Reno and through the USFL before a decade-plus NFL career as a dependable interior lineman. He started at guard and center for the Cardinals and Saints before landing in Dallas in 1994, where he became the starting center on a Super Bowl team at the tail end of his career.

Madden rated him a solid veteran starter. Kennard peaked at a 90 in Madden NFL 95 for the 1994 season, his first in Dallas, built on a strong run-blocking rating, before easing to a 72 as he moved to center and aged. The grade fit a reliable, experienced lineman doing a specialized job.

Kennard's defining moment was toughness: he started at center in Super Bowl XXX while playing through a separated shoulder, snapping and blocking in obvious pain to help Dallas win its third title of the decade. He had made second-team All-Pro a few years earlier with New Orleans, the recognition of a genuinely good interior lineman. He retired after 1996. Madden's 90 marks a solid starter at his best; the shoulder in the Super Bowl marks just the pro he was.