Givanni Damico | November 20th, 2019
Javon Kinlaw, DT, South Carolina #3
Height: 6’6”
Weight: 305 lbs
Year: Senior
Games I’ve watched: Alabama (2019), at Missouri (2019), at Georgia (2019), at Clemson (2018)
Kinlaw has been an unstoppable force for the Gamecocks on the defensive line. He bursts through opposing offensive lines and creates an immense amount of pressure. Kinlaw doesn’t just show up against the Gamecocks’ weaker opponent. He plays well against conference opponents such as Alabama as well.
I grade on a 100-point scale being distributed 10 ways with 10 different criteria. For defensive tackles, this criteria includes: Frame, Speed, Strength, Bull Rush, Point of Attack (POA), Hand Usage, Pursuit, Pass Rush, Processing, and Block Shedding
Make sure to check out all of our other scouting reports here.
| Frame | 9/10 At 6 foot 6, 305 pounds (give or take), Kinlaw is the ideal size of an NFL defensive tackle. He has worked hard to get his weight down since coming to South Carolina and it has really changed his game. He is much less sluggish and much more powerful. |
| Speed | 7/10 I don’t expect Kinlaw to be a speed demon at his size, but I was slightly disappointed with his lack of burst after breaking through the line. He does a great job penetrating, but he is slow to the quarterback once he’s in open space. Although the fact that he is able to break through at all creates a lot of pressure for opposing quarterbacks and pressure creates turnovers. |
| Strength | 9/10 Kinlaw is incredibly at breaking through opposing offensive lines and disrupting the backfield. He is a bully on that front seven, driving interior offensive linemen back towards their quarterback. |
| Bull Rush | 8.5/10 Many opposing linemen can’t handle the bullrush from Kinlaw (besides Clemson in 2018). He drives them back with force and creates pressure. He doesn’t do this all that often so it’s hard for me to give him a concrete grade for this. |
| POA | 8.5/10 Kinlaw’s point of attack is what makes him so effective. He knows how to work each individual offensive lineman where he can win the battle (once again, besides Clemson). At times, he takes the edge which he does with a surprisingly good bend for a big man. He could use improvement on better leveraging himself to become more effective in the run game. |
| Hand Usage | 7.5/10 While his hand usage is inconsistent, it is still effective at times. This is one of my bigger areas of concern with him, but he has shown improvement since last season which is a good sign. |
| Pursuit | 7.5/10 Kinlaw is a one-trick pony with his initial attack. When he gets beat, he struggles to recover and is often too slow to pursue the quarterback or any other ballcarrier. As I said earlier, I don’t expect him to kick it into another gear and chase down D’Andre Swift, but a second plan of attack would be useful. |
| Pass Rush | 8/10 His initial attack is often enough to create pressure which is a very good ability to have. Like I said above, he’d be even more effective if he had a second plan once his initial attack isn’t successful. |
| Processing | 7.5/10 Kinlaw’s an intelligent player and a leader for South Carolina. His processing is hit or miss. Often, he ends up on the ground and unable to make any impact on the play. He can be easily fooled by run-pass option plays. |
| Block Shedding | 8/10 Once again, Javon’s initial effort often allows him to shed the blocks, but when that doesn’t work, Kinlaw has a minimal impact on the play. That burst in and of itself is enough to make him a very valuable player, and once he develops a couple other moves, he’ll be a stud. |
| Overall Grade | 80.5/100 Kinlaw is a solid player across the board who does a great job creating pressure on his first move. While he is still working on developing other techniques, his burst is enough to make him an asset immediately. His bend isn’t quite good enough to allow him to consistently make plays as an interior lineman which may prompt some teams to view him as an edge rusher. While his speed isn’t elite and his pursuit not always effective, Kinlaw’s non-stop motor allows him to make plays in the backfield and his effort shows his work ethic. Round Grade: Late First Round Pro Comparison: Chris Jones |
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