© Sergio Estrada | 2019 Dec 15
Had the 49ers not drafted Deebo Samuel in 2019, they might not have selected Javon Kinlaw in 2020. That’s not necessarily because Samuel had an excellent rookie season — he did — but rather because it led to the organization establishing trust with Will Muschamp, who coached both players at South Carolina.
Kinlaw entered the draft with concerns about his knees, but Muschamp encouraged the 49ers to select the defensive lineman, something that went a long way for John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan. San Francisco’s brass knew they could trust Muschamp, largely because of their experience dealing with him the previous year.
“I didn’t know Will; I had met him once,” Lynch said on Colin Cowherd’s radio show. “We called on Deebo and he hit all his stripes – but he also hit, not weaknesses, but just realities of who the person is. He depicted Deebo so well, I said, ‘Kyle (Shanahan) we have to pick up the phone and call Will about Kinlaw because he was so darn honest.’
“Sure enough, we made that call. Muschamp goes above and beyond in telling me about Javon, the player and the person. He said to call his junior college coach, that he knows him better than anybody. I called this guy Steve Buckley at Jones Community College. You had to rely more on that kind of thing this year because we didn’t have the visits where we bring a guy in for two days and really get to know the person. The relationships came in handy.”
This begs the question: what were the realities about Samuel that Lynch was referring to? Thanks to KNBR insider Matt Maiocco, we now have the answer.
“You’re going to need to stay on him about his weight in the offseason,” Muschamp told Maiocco on the 49ers Insider Podcast.
“Of course, he shows up a little bit overweight and (49ers receivers coach) Wes Welker takes him out for some 6 a.m. runs to get him back in shape. But I said, ‘You’re going to get a guy who’s a playmaker with the ball in his hands.’ He’s a receiver, but he’s got a big lower body. He runs through contact. He plays almost like a running back. They utilized him a lot in that manner.”
If Samuel continues on the trajectory that had him gain 802 yards in his rookie season last year, the 49ers will likely take the trade off of a few extra burgers during the summer months.