Big impression, small ego: 49ers’ Kinlaw is settling in
Ask the 49ers for their initial impressions of rookie defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw and a theme emerges.
Let’s see if you can pick up on it.
“Oh, man, he’s just a specimen,” guard Laken Tomlinson said.
Pass rusher Nick Bosa: “He’s one of the biggest humans I’ve ever seen in person.”
And running back Jerick McKinnon: “He has a big upper body. Big lower body. Big quads. Everything on him is just big.”
Kinlaw, the No. 14 overall pick, is listed at 6foot5 and 319 pounds on the 49ers’ roster, but maybe they are using his measurements from middle school?
Kinlaw should be measured in square feet. He weighed 10 pounds, 8 ounces at birth and noted Tuesday that’s he always been bigger than his peers. However, the man with gashose arms (347⁄8 inches) and oildrum thighs figured he’d finally blend in when he met his NFL teammates at training camp last month.
“Honestly, coming in, I thought I was going to be like another guy,” Kinlaw said. “But I’m coming in and I’m looking like, ‘OK, dang, I’m the biggest guy.’ But just because I’m big that doesn’t always mean (much) because everyone is strong. Everybody is big. It’s all
about technique.”
As Kinlaw hinted, he has yet to have an outsized performance during the first four practices of training camp. He hasn’t consistently flashed while working with the second team, although there have been moments when it’s clear why the 49ers coveted him.
On Tuesday, for example, he twice faced Tomlinson, the 315pounder who’s one of the 49ers’ strongest players, in a oneonone passrushing drill. The result, which probably registered on the Richter scale, had Tomlinson giving up significant ground against Kinlaw’s bullrush.
Right guard Daniel Brunskill has likened blocking Kinlaw to “hitting a wall.” However, Kinlaw also has hit a wall during steamy practices against an offense that stretches out defenses with outsidezone runs.
“Like every rookie, it’s just a different feel when you get on the practice field, especially when you go against an offense like ours who moves at such a fast pace, who make you run as a defensive line,” defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said. “It’s not a power game that you’ve got to play. It’s more of a speed game. For him, he’s like every rookie. It’s the fourth day of camp. Legs are probably getting a little bit heavier. But we’re excited to have him.”
Kinlaw’s assessment of his performance?
“I’d be lying if I thought it was good,” he said. “But I’m making improvements. That’s the main thing.”
Say this: Kinlaw has made great strides as an interview subject.
On Tuesday, his first meeting with the media since his buttonedup Q&A session on his draft night in April, Kinlaw was funny, engaging and displayed a humility not often displayed by college AllAmericans and firstround picks.
His thoughts on facing Tomlinson?
“I’ll tell you what, the other day he wore me out,” Kinlaw said. “I’m used to playing bully ball in college, but it’s like everyone here is strong. And then they’re playing with good pad level. … (I’m going after Tomlinson) and his head is below my sternum.”
When asked if defensive line coach Kris Kocurek has eased him in by limiting him in individual drills, Kinlaw laughed: “Coach put me in the fire off the rip. He threw me in the fire since Day 1. … It isn’t a limiting thing.”
And his impressions of the profane and highdecibel Kocurek? “He’s a mad man,” Kinlaw said, smiling.
The big man has won over teammates with his small ego.
Center Ben Garland, 32, said Kinlaw, whom he described as “very coachable,” has asked offensive players how he can take care of himself so he can maximize his NFL career.
Kinlaw said he has been inspired to mirror the work ethic and intensity of Bosa, noting he’s early to practice, among the last to leave and constantly working out. He cited pass rusher Dee Ford, 29, as a mentor.
“He’s got an old soul,” Kinlaw said, “so whatever Dee says, I’m tuned all the way into it.”
Said Ford: “He wants to soak everything up and he wants to learn. He reminds me of Nick Bosa when he came in. He didn’t say too much. When you’re a firstround draft pick, you can come in and … be a little entitled. That’s not him. That’s not in his DNA. He’s everything that you want to see in a rookie.”
Kinlaw has yet to display everything the 49ers will want to see. But that’s not surprising, given he’s a few practices into his NFL career and needs refinement. Kinlaw, a junior college transfer, played 29 games in his three seasons at South Carolina, and the 49ers have acknowledged he’s more advanced as a run stuffer than pass rusher.
Kinlaw, who had just 10 sacks in college, noted he’s working on hand placement to become a more effective rusher. He figures he can make the biggest impact as a rookie by maximizing his size and strength.
It hasn’t happened yet, but he expects to be able to play bully ball in the NFL.
“I’ve been working a lot (on my) hands, but the thing I can get better at right now is just power rushes,” Kinlaw said. “Because I have a lot of power, and when I use it the right way, it can be deadly.”