Javon Kinlaw has provided the 49ers with a fascinating new spark on defense
Steve Wilks’ arrival as 49ers defensive coordinator was always likely to bring about changes, but one of the most fascinating developments on that side of the ball through weeks is a player-inspired one. The 49ers have outstanding depth on the defensive line and last week against the Giants, some of the most compelling demonstrations of […]
Steve Wilks’ arrival as 49ers defensive coordinator was always likely to bring about changes, but one of the most fascinating developments on that side of the ball through weeks is a player-inspired one.
The 49ers have outstanding depth on the defensive line and last week against the Giants, some of the most compelling demonstrations of that depth came when San Francisco elected to line up with five defensive linemen on the front.
San Francisco played with five up front on a run stop in the season opener at Pittsburgh, but the 49ers have since expanded to using it on pass-rushing downs, albeit sparingly, and the returns have been impressive over a small sample size.
On the three snaps where the 49ers have run a 5-1-5, their Expected Points Added average is minus 0.69 (negative numbers are the goal in that metric on defense). On the two snaps where they have run the 5-2-4, it is minus 0.74. To put into context how good those numbers are, the Browns lead the NFL with a defensive EPA per play of minus 0.39.
The implementation of the five-man front has allowed the 49ers to get their top three defensive tackles, Javon Hargrave, Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw on the field at the same time, and the threat of all three was more than the Giants’ banged-up offensive line could handle last Thursday, Kinlaw in particular enjoying success in decimating the pocket.
Kinlaw, the 14th overall pick of the 2020 draft, has finally emerged as a destructive force up front after seeing several seasons derailed by injury, and it was following his urging that Wilks elected to put the five-man front into the gameplan.
In the locker room on Thursday, I asked Kinlaw when he decided to lobby Wilks to insert him as a third defensive tackle. He said:
“Since I first talked about it, why not? We got it in, call it in the game, let us out there, let us do our thing, it’s gonna come down.”
Wilks obliged in letting the trio do their thing and that decision is a factor in Kinlaw looking like a player reborn. Per Pro Football Focus, Kinlaw has 10 pressures to his name, one more than Armstead and just three behind Hargrave.
“They lobby every week and can get a little testy when I don’t call it like, ‘It’s up when are you going to call it?’ So I got to it” said Wilks at Thursday’s press conference. “We had success and wanted to go back to it as well. And those guys did a great job, so I’m happy about it.
“It’s not so much a reward [for Kinlaw] because he does his share as far as him rotating in there and collapsing the pocket and doing a great job. But I just think it’s a change of pace for us in just trying to create the matchups that we want to create a spark.”
That spark has been evident whenever Wilks has called it. However, Wilks has to be wary not to overuse such fronts considering the additional demands it can place on the solitary linebacker on the field in coverage when the defensive formation is a 5-1-5.
Thankfully for the 49ers, they have the premier linebacker in the game in Fred Warner, with Wilks willingness to leave him on his own behind a defensive-line quintet a reflection of how firmly he believes not only in Warner, but in a front that looks like the best in football through three weeks.
“A lot of confidence in those guys across the board, particularly up front and knowing that Kinlaw has worked his butt off all in the offseason, done a tremendous job,” said Wilks. “I think it just gives those guys an opportunity up front, to get one-on-ones, which I think is tough for anybody to block our guys up front one-on-one.”
Kinlaw echoed that sentiment, adding: “It’s awesome, you’ve got five one on ones, three one on ones on the interior, outside guys probably get chipped some. It’s fun, you’ve got every gap covered so you can do what you want out there and we all know we gonna win.”
All the 49ers have done up front is win so far this season. As long as that continues, Kinlaw and company are unlikely to have to lobby Wilks very hard during what is shaping up to be a special season for this D-Line.
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