49ers need Javon Kinlaw to anchor defensive line second unit
49ers need Javon Kinlaw to anchor defensive line second unit originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SANTA CLARA — The 49ers are no longer counting on defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw to be a starter.
But when Kinlaw gets on the field whenever Javon Hargrave or Arik Armstead need a break, the 49ers expect Kinlaw to play like a starter.
Kinlaw enters his fourth season after the 49ers selected him with the No. 14 overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. The club declined to pick up his fifth-year option for 2024, meaning he will be scheduled for unrestricted free agency next spring.
Kinlaw missed 26 games over his first three NFL seasons due to knee issues. He simply has not practiced or played enough to show any marked improvement.
He has been healthy all summer, and demonstrated the ability to move laterally and push the pocket as a pass-rusher.
The area of his game that poses the biggest question mark is his run defense. Listed at 6-foot-5, 319 pounds, Kinlaw has not shown the ability to anchor against double-teams on run plays coming at him.
“He is a massive man, very tall,” 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said. “So we constantly talk about his pad level, staying low. This is a leverage game. Low man wins.
“I’ve seen that improvement with him, not only with him, with guys across the front. So we're going to need that next week for sure.”
The 49ers open the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers and their two-pronged running attack. The Steelers’ featured back is powerful Najee Harris, who rushed for 1,034 yards and seven touchdowns last season. Second-year back Jaylen Warren figures to have a larger role this season after averaging 4.9 yards per carry on 77 rushing attempts last season.
Wilks dismissed the idea that the Steelers will try to move Kinlaw off the ball and run right at him whenever he’s on the field.
Instead, he stressed the importance of the men up front holding their ground to allow linebackers Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw to make stops near the line of scrimmage.
“What teams get with us is they try to double team us and try to get to the second level,” Wilks said. “So we’ve got to do a great job of maintaining and splitting that double team and not allowing them to push on the linebacker.
“So that's where it's all about get-off and guys really staying in their gaps.”
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