Ranking 49ers 10 most important players entering 2022

No. 9: 49ers Defensive Tackle Javon KinlawNext up on this list of the most important 49ers for 2022 is another defensive lineman: defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw.

Kinlaw has not had the easiest entrance into the NFL after the Niners selected him with the 14th overall pick in 2020, struggling with a knee injury that eventually sidelined him for most of the 2021 season.

However, Kinlaw had knee surgery last fall that should hopefully put the injury behind him, and he says he is feeling healthier than ever. Hopefully, Kinlaw is on track to be the player San Francisco drafted him to be.

Because, wow, do the 49ers need that. Last season with Kinlaw out, nose tackle D.J. Jones stepped up to be the anchor of the middle of the Niners’ D-line. The bulk of San Francisco’s run-stopping was because of Jones’ standout performance stepping in for Kinlaw and who finished the season with 40 solo tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and two sacks.

Unfortunately, because of that performance, Jones signed with the Denver Broncos in free agency. The 49ers are now without one of the core pieces of their successful 2021 defensive front and will need Kinlaw to step up into that run-stopping role in order to anchor the defense.

The Niners do have other defensive tackles on the roster, but none are clear fits to produce like Jones other than Kinlaw.

Kinlaw will every opportunity to prove his hater, sorry haters, wrong on the field, and if he can, San Francisco’s defense will reap the rewards.

If he can’t, well, the 49ers will reap that, too, which is why Kinlaw is so important to the team’s fortunes in 2022.