49ers roster: Javon Kinlaw must enact fierce retribution in 2022
By Peter Panacy
Why Javon Kinlaw stays flat with 49ers in 2022
Niners fans may recall another former first-round NFL Draft pick who flashed signs of promise but never came close to living up to expectations, the 2017 selection of now-New York Jets defensive end Solomon Thomas.
Granted, the players and their attributes are entirely different, so let’s not go too far down that proverbial rabbit hole.
However, it is year three for Javon Kinlaw. Time is running out for him to make that massive impact.
Two things may work against him here. For starters, there are going to be knee concerns, and one more setback could easily convince San Francisco that it made a whiff pick on him in 2020. And while this isn’t exactly Kinlaw’s fault, injuries do play a massive role in determining how valuable a player is to his respective franchise.
Additionally, the occasional splash play Kinlaw showed his rookie season might not increase on a regular basis, rather him having an outcome of somewhat “disappearing” from plays and getting locked up by lone blockers on a snap-by-snap basis is the norm.
Unless Kinlaw plays angry, of course.