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49ers rookie defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw after seven games is still in search of his first sack and his first tackle for loss. While the job of a defensive tackle can be relatively thankless because of the outside-the-box-score impact they can have, Kinlaw’s rookie season hasn’t been great. There have been good plays and bad plays, but defensive coordinator Robert Saleh likes what he sees from the No. 14 overall pick because of what’s happening outside the lines.
Kinlaw may not be producing at a high level yet, and growing pains were certainly expected in a year with a limited offseason, but Saleh said the rookie is growing each game because of his ability to rapidly notice and fix mistakes.
“He’s learning something new every single game. I think it was a couple of games ago, he had some opportunities in pass rush and a couple of them, we talked about it and he knew exactly what happened,” Saleh told reporters in a video conference Thursday. “He’s like, ‘Man, I wish I would have,’ but that all comes with time and experience. So, for Javon, it’s continue to stay the course. Continue to find ways to get better, but what’s encouraging about him is he’s recognizing when he could have done better on a play and you’re not seeing the same mistake twice.
“If you have a player who can recognize things that happen that quickly, he doesn’t need to go to the film room. He just knows it happened. When they’re able to recognize it on the fly like that and make a self in-game adjustment, you know that those players have a chance to be very special.”
Kinlaw has posted 11 pressures, two quarterback hits and nine run stops while playing 60.9 percent of the snaps — third-most on the club among defensive linemen.
There’s a chance the numbers stay low for Kinlaw all year just given the learning curve and the nature of the position. Learning on the fly though will put Kinlaw ahead of that curve going into Year 2. He’s also had a couple of plays each game where everything clicks and it’s clear what type of player he can be.
Saleh said there’s a clear road map for Kinlaw to reach the potential the team saw when they made him their first pick in this year’s draft.
“For him, it’s just continue to get better,” Saleh said. “Continue to focus on all those little details and he’s going to be a good one. You can mark my words on that one.”