We’ve learned at least two facts about 49ers rookie defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw during the first two padded practices of training camp.
He’s big and he’s honest.
The first one was easy to see coming. Kinlaw has been listed at 6-foot-5 and around 319 pounds for a long while. But seeing him in person adds impressive perspective. Kinlaw’s calves look like pillars of granite. His arms are about as wide as the average leg. He towers above most of his 49ers teammates. Not surprisingly, that’s been a recurring theme of his entire life: Kinlaw weighed 10 pounds, eight ounces at birth and he said he’s consistently been the biggest human in all of his athletic and social circles.
As far as Kinlaw’s mindset, the 22-year-old’s straightforwardness shone through on Tuesday’s Zoom media call.
Kinlaw had a chance to beat around the bush early in his session when a reporter asked him to assess his performance in training camp so far. Reporters have only seen glimpses of Kinlaw up close in padded action, so it would’ve been easy for him to simply offer a platitude about feeling effective. There wouldn’t have been much ground to question it.
Instead, Kinlaw pondered the question for a few seconds.
“I would be lying if I thought it was good,” Kinlaw said of his performance in the first few days of camp. “But I’m making improvements. That’s the main thing: Just get better day by day. That’s it. That’s all I’m trying to do. I knew coming in that it wasn’t gonna be easy, so I already had prepared myself for that. And I see the improvements daily.”
Later, Kinlaw was asked if 49ers defensive line coach Kris Kocurek has been easing him into individual drills at the NFL level.
“Hell no!” Kinlaw immediately said, barely allowing the reporter to finish his question as Kinlaw chuckled. “Coach threw me in the fire off the rip — since walk-throughs, he threw me in the fire. It ain’t no limiting thing. And that’s what I like. Coach, he only want the best for you and I really appreciate him for that.
“He the same guy every day. He a madman. That’s what he is — you gotta come out with the same (energy). The thing is, if you ain’t got no energy, you best believe by the time (individual drills) are over, you gonna have some energy, messing with him.”
We know Kocurek, of course, mainly for
his vigorous coaching style, which has sparked the team’s defensive line. We’re now beginning to learn about Kinlaw. And a few months from now, we should know how well this year’s No. 14 overall draft pick — meant to be the team’s replacement for All-Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner — fits into defensive coordinator Robert Saleh’s big-picture plan.
During Sunday’s individual drills, 49ers left guard Laken Tomlinson stonewalled Kinlaw, but it was hard to glean much from that since it wasn’t a padded practice. Kinlaw said that he made progress during Tuesday’s session, which was played in full gear.
“I’ll tell you what, he wore me out the other day,” Kinlaw said of Tomlinson. “I’m used to playing bully ball in college, but it’s like everybody here is strong, you know? And then they’re playing with good pad level. I’m running off the ball, his head is below my sternum, you know what I’m saying?
“But today, it favored me a little more.”
Kinlaw was indeed a mauler at the three-technique playing for South Carolina and he’s been open about his desire to absorb NFL coaching to refine his talents. Also, during the offseason, Kinlaw began
specialized work to improve his hand usage, a key component of 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa’s early success in the NFL.
“With Bosa, I’m just trying to match his intensity,” Kinlaw said. “He’s out there before and after practice. He makes me feel that’s what I should do.”
And that’s exactly what the 49ers want Kinlaw doing at this early stage. The coaches have a massive but relatively raw prospect on their hands. They think his strength offers the defense a chance to eventually develop improved stoutness against the run. And they believe his candid approach to practice and training will yield steady improvement.
“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,” Saleh said of Kinlaw after Tuesday’s practice. “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. He showed a lot of explosive movements through individual drills in the first 10 days and he is a very large human being, a very powerful man. He just needs to continue to grind and lean on the veterans in that room and continue to get better every day.”
A receiver’s reemergence: It wasn’t a spectacular showing, but receiver Dante Pettis enjoyed an effective practice on Tuesday. He caught a handful of passes, including a couple in some soft spots of zone defense opened up by play action.
“He’s been coming along,” Jimmy Garoppolo said of Pettis on Tuesday afternoon. “It’s very encouraging, just the physicality that he’s playing with, the competitiveness that he’s bringing. You love to see that and it’s just one of those things that you’ve got to keep it rolling.”
Around this time last year, Pettis began sliding down the depth chart. He still made some big catches early in the season, including the game-winning touchdown against Pittsburgh in Week 3, but became a non-factor down the stretch.
The fact that Garoppolo complimented Pettis’ physicality is noteworthy. That’s a key component for wideouts paired with Garoppolo, since he is comfortable throwing shorter passes to receivers in tighter quarters between the numbers.
Among other 49ers receivers, both Trent Taylor and rookie Brandon Aiyuk followed up previous good days with multiple catches on Tuesday.
“He has a good feel for feeling the zones and when it’s man-to-man,” Garoppolo said of Aiyuk. “He knows when to break off routes and just do what he has to do to get open. It’s a real natural instinct, just running routes for him. It’s really cool to throw routes to a guy like that. He sees the field very similar to a quarterback and it makes my job very easy.”
Secondary competition: The starting cornerback job opposite Richard Sherman is up for grabs.
“Obviously, we’d like to see a competition over there,” Saleh said. “It is wide open, if you want to call it that. We’re just trying to give guys opportunities to go win that job.”
Emmanuel Moseley finished last season as the starter at right cornerback after the 49ers benched Ahkello Witherspoon during the divisional-round playoff game. Veteran Jason Verrett, healthy after missing most of last season, is back in the mix. So far in practice, candidates have rotated through the open spot to take reps with the rest of the first-stringers.
As for Sherman, he watched a solid chunk of Tuesday’s team drills from the sideline. That was scheduled rest for the 32-year-old veteran, who’s entering his 10th NFL season.
It still seemed to be a productive practice for Sherman, who engaged in a meticulous, hands-on discussion about technique with new 49ers defensive backs coach Tony Oden:
Odds and ends: Starting center Ben Garland tweaked his ankle in practice, though the injury doesn’t appear serious. Daniel Brunskill replaced him for the remainder of the session. The 49ers are already thin at center since they don’t expect Weston Richburg to return until further into the season;
our Matt Barrows reported that the team has been in touch with former 49ers center Daniel Kilgore. … Undrafted rookie running back JaMycal Hasty went flying when safety Jared Mayden shoved him out of bounds after a big gain on Tuesday, but it has been difficult for 49ers defenders to square Hasty up because he’s so elusive. … Journeyman DB Jamar Taylor, who’s in his eighth NFL season, is taking first-team snaps at nickel back while the 49ers wait for K’Waun Williams, who is
expected to miss about two weeks with a calf strain. Saleh complimented Taylor’s reliability as a fill-in at that important spot. … The first big hit of camp: Linebacker Fred Warner dislodged the ball from receiver Tavon Austin on a pass over the middle. Both players were OK.
