49ers Matchup of the Day: Javon Kinlaw vs. Colton McKivitz

The matchup of the day at 49ers training camp lasted 60 seconds tops.

Grant Cohn | Aug 22, 2020

The matchup of the day at 49ers training camp lasted 60 seconds tops.

It was rookie defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw -- a first-round pick -- versus rookie guard Colton McKivitz -- a fifth-round pick. They faced each other back to back during a one-on-one pass-rush drill.

Kinlaw was supposed to win -- he has replaced All Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner in the 49ers defense. Kinlaw is supposed to start as a rookie and contend for the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, which Nick Bosa won last season. Lots of pressure on Kinlaw.

And no pressure on McKivitz. He’s a fifth-round pick -- he can be a backup his entire career. If he becomes a starter, he will exceed expectations.

So that’s the background.

When McKivitz and Kinlaw faced each other the first time Saturday, Kinlaw tried to do a quick move to the inside, but McKivitz blocked it. He stood up Kinlaw -- just stopped him. Impressive, considering how huge Kinlaw is.

Thirty seconds later, they faced each other again. This time, Kinlaw tried to beat McKivitz around the edge, but McKivitz punched him and knocked Kinlaw off balance, and Kinlaw fell on his back. McKivitz pancaked him. Good thing the 49ers don’t allow the media to film practice this season, because that clip would have gone viral.

Kinlaw had good moments during practice, like when he faced center Daniel Brunskill. Kinlaw pushed him around. But he couldn’t push around McKivitz, who might just be the 49ers’ best rookie this season. It’s early, but he’s a contender.

McKivitz won the matchup of the day. Call it a T.K.O.

Published Aug 22, 2020

GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.