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Dallas Cowboys Draft: 5 First Round Picks to Watch

By Daniel Ruppert

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 22: Malcolm Smith #53 of the Dallas Cowboys reacts before the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on December 22, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 22: Malcolm Smith #53 of the Dallas Cowboys reacts before the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on December 22, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 09: Javon Kinlaw #3 of the South Carolina Gamecocks warms up before their game against the Appalachian State Mountaineers at Williams-Brice Stadium on November 09, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 09: Javon Kinlaw #3 of the South Carolina Gamecocks warms up before their game against the Appalachian State Mountaineers at Williams-Brice Stadium on November 09, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images) /

Javon Kinlaw – Defensive Tackle – South Carolina

If Derrick Brown drops he is the top defensive tackle in the draft, but the next two guys in Javon Kinlaw and Raekwon Davis are not that far behind. I am going with Kinlaw due to his pass rush ability and I like his flexibility just a little more than Davis. Both are top talents, but Kinlaw gets a slight edge.

Kinlaw is one of the quickest defensive tackles in this draft and will absolutely be able to get to the quarterback from inside unless he is consistently double teamed. He is tall and long and uses his height and length to his advantage. He is constantly getting his hands up into passing lanes if he isn’t in the backfield. He isn’t really a 1-tech guy, but can play in a 2-gap system although is better suited for a 1-gap system, and would be able to be a 3 or 5 tech defensive tackle you can move outside as well to end.

He is a disruptive player who needs to be accounted for and would fit well in a system that allows him to use his speed. One thing that I noticed was how well he uses his hands and with all the flash in the passing game he holds up really well in the run game and it makes him a three down player. He gets off the snap really quickly and uses that with the hands to disrupt the pocket on a lot of snaps. He sheds blocks at a high level and finds the ball carrier quickly.

The only flaws with Kinlaw is sometimes he plays very upright due to his height. This looks to show up more often when he is double teamed, but he looks to have the tools to get better. The other small issue is sometimes when he has been doubled a lot his motor drops. He is a little bit of a hybrid 3/5 tech and DE, but his talent and athleticism is off the charts.

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