NFL Draft: Highlights of 49ers’ Dynamic DL Selected at No. 14 [WATCH]

San Francisco 49ers 2020 NFL Draft

Getty MIAMI, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 02: Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers reacts against the Kansas City Chiefs during the second quarter in Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium on February 02, 2020 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

The San Francisco 49ers had two first-round draft picks in the 2020 NFL Draft: the 13th and 31st overall picks.

The team had been linked to mega-talented Oklahoma wide receiver CeeDee Lamb in multiple mock drafts, as well as Alabama’s standout wideout Jerry Jeudy, but the Niners went defense instead.

The 49ers acquired the 13th overall pick when they sent All-Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts in March, and they moved down one slot in the draft this year, becoming the first team to trade, swapping picks with Tampa Bay. The Bucs sent the 14th overall pick along with a fourth rounder (117th overall) to San Francisco in exchange for No. 13 and a seventh rounder (No. 245).

With the 14th overall spot, the 49ers selected South Carolina defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw.

NFL insider Ian Rapoport said the 49ers had several trade offers for the 14th pick, but they turned them down in order to snag Kinlaw at 14.


Javon Kinlaw Stats: 49ers Getting DeForest Buckner’s Replacement?

In his three seasons at South Carolina, Kinlaw had 10 sacks in 29 games, while recovering four fumbles and forcing three. He’ll likely get playing time rotating on the line early, and will make a line featuring Nick Bosa even more disruptive. He also had 17 tackles-for-loss at South Carolina, so he has been a big-time play-maker on the defensive side of the ball. They’ll need it after losing Buckner, whose trade essentially resulted in Kinlaw and whomever San Francisco takes later in the fourth round.

At 6’5″ and 315 lbs., Kinlaw has an explosiveness off the block few in the draft can rival, and his potential to learn and grow with experience is off the charts.

The Draft Network had the following to say about Kinlaw: “A hugely powerful athlete with a wicked first step, Kinlaw demolishes blocking schemes and pocket integrity with regularly. Kinlaw can 1-gap or 2-gap with equal success at the NFL level given his elite toolkit, and his potential as a pass-rusher is sky-high. Inconsistencies regarding Kinlaw’s leverage and pass rush moves limit his ceiling as a one-on-one winner as an interior pass rusher, but by moving him around the line and sticking him in gaps, you’ll get quality pass rush ability in Year 1.”

Kinlaw saw his Senior Bowl cut short due to tendinitis in his knee, which may have kept a few teams from taking him. It didn’t deter San Francisco, and based on Kinlaw’s comments earlier in the week, it all turned out how he’d hoped.


Javon Kinlaw on 49ers: ‘That’s What I Want to Be a Part Of’

When asked about the team he’d most like to play for prior to the draft, Kinlaw chose the Niners. “If I had to say…I’d say the 49ers,” he said. “They just a wonderful group of guys, a talented group that works together. They work together for the same goal, not individual achievements, and that’s to get the win at the end of the day. That’s what I want to be a part of, someone who looks at it as a whole.”

Here are some of Kinlaw’s highlights from his time at South Carolina:

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