South Carolina DT Javon Kinlaw reminds Detroit Lions he's a first-round option
Justin Rogers
Allen Park — When talking about the Detroit Lions' options in the first round of the upcoming draft, there are a handful names routinely mentioned.
First and foremost is Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah, the logical replacement for recently traded Darius Slay. Okudah is closely followed by hyper-athletic linebacker Isaiah Simmons and well-rounded defensive tackle Derrick Brown. The rest of the group is made up of Okudah's college teammate Chase Young, who more than likely going to be off the board by the time the Lions are on the clock, and the long-shot option, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, as an heir apparent to Matthew Stafford.
Few include Javon Kinlaw in that mix of possibilities, but the South Carolina defensive tackle would certainty fill a need in Detroit. Not only does he play a position where the Lions still need help, but his ability to rush the passer from the interior is a skill the team sorely lacked in recent years.
Wednesday evening, responding to a tweet from the Detroit Lions official twitter account, Kinlaw threw his hand up from the back of the class, just to remind everyone he's here, in case you forgot.
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The tweet by the Lions was an offer to design a custom cell phone wallpapers for fans, asking them to provide their name and number. Kinlaw responded, "Kinlaw 3."
That number was not only his jersey number in college, but where the Lions are drafting.
The two sides need no introduction. The Lions got a first-hand look at the defender at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, where he impressed at the event's weigh-in before dominating two days of practices for the South squad.
Over the past two seasons, Kinlaw registered 10.0 sacks for the Gamecocks. In 2019, he put pressure on the quarterback 40 times, according to Pro Football Focus, once every 8.8 pass-rush snaps.