PFF names Javon Kinlaw as 49ers’ potential breakout player for 2021

There's always room for improvement. Rookie San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw showed flashes during his first NFL season, and general manager John Lynch recently shared some high praise for his young defender.

"I think Kinlaw is going to be a dominant force in this league," Lynch recently told The Athletic while comparing the defender's rookie season to the start of Hall of Fame defensive lineman Warren Sapp. "I should say, 'is going to become,' because he's not there yet. He's shown flashes."

Sam Monson of Pro Football Talk (PFF) recently named breakout candidates for all 32 NFL teams, and Kinlaw was his choice for Lynch's 49ers.

"At first glance, Javon Kinlaw doesn't look like a great candidate to break out based on the data from his rookie season," wrote Monson. "He ended with an overall PFF grade of just 54.1, had only two sacks and 19 total pressures and showed no dominant facet in terms of grading. But every game he played saw one or two plays where he flashed the ability he undoubtedly has.

"Playing at the NFL level is about performing consistently and not going missing in between, but showing special traits is still important when considering how a player will perform when he is more used to the speed and competition level of the NFL."

Kinlaw officially finished his rookie campaign with 33 tackles, 1.5 sacks (PFF credits him with two sacks as the analytics site gives full credit for shared sacks), three tackles for a loss, four quarterback hits, an interception, a touchdown, and four passes defensed.