Javon Kinlaw (born 3 October 1997) is a Trinidadian professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played college football at

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, and was drafted by the 49ers in the first round of the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The d ...

Early years

Kinlaw spent part of his childhood homeless in Washington, D.C. after immigrating from Trinidad and Tobago with his mother and two siblings. He attended Goose Creek High School in

Goose Creek, South Carolina Goose Creek is a city in Berkeley County in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 45,946 at the 2020 census. Most of the Naval Weapons Station Charleston is in Goose Creek. As defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, a ...

College career

Kinlaw played one year at

Jones County Junior College Jones College is a public community college in Ellisville, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and serves its eight-county district consisting of Clarke, Covington, Gree ...

in 2016 before transferring to the University of South Carolina. In his first year at South Carolina in 2017, he played in all 13 games with 10 starts and had 20 tackles. In 2018, he started all 12 games and had 38 tackles and 4.5 sacks. Kinlaw returned to South Carolina for his senior season in 2019.

Statistics

Professional career

Kinlaw was drafted by the

in the first round of the

with the 14th overall pick. The 14th overall pick was acquired originally from the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

after the 49ers traded down with the first round pick (13th overall) they originally acquired in the

DeForest Buckner DeForest George Buckner (born March 17, 1994) is an American football defensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oregon, and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the ...

trade. He signed his four-year rookie contract with the team on 26 June 2020, worth a fully guaranteed $15.48 million, including an $8.8 million signing bonus. During Week 10 against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, Kinlaw recorded his first career sack on quarterback

Taysom Hill Taysom Shawn Hill (born August 23, 1990) is an American football utility player officially designated as a tight end for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at BYU and joined the Saints in 201 ...

during the 27–13 loss. Kinlaw was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

list by the team on November 18, 2020, and activated on November 27. In Week 12 against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

, Kinlaw intercepted a pass thrown by

Jared Goff Jared Thomas Goff (born October 14, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California, where he set the Pac-12 Conference season records for passing ...

and returned it for a 27-yard touchdown during the 23–20 win. This was his first career interception and touchdown. Kinlaw was named Pepsi Rookie of the Week for his performance against the Rams. On October 30, 2021, Kinlaw was placed on injured reserve. On October 15, 2022, Kinlaw was placed on injured reserve. He was activated on December 23.

NFL statistics

References

External links

San Francisco 49ers bioSouth Carolina Gamecocks bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kinlaw, Javon 1997 births Living people Sportspeople from Charleston, South Carolina Trinidad and Tobago players of American football Players of American football from South Carolina American football defensive tackles Jones County Bobcats football players South Carolina Gamecocks football players San Francisco 49ers players All-American college football players