Kinlaw, who was taken 14th overall by the 49ers in 2020, was plagued by injuries at the start of his career. A promising rookie campaign was followed up by being placed on Injured Reserve in back-to-back seasons, limiting him to just 10 games in that span. Kinlaw missed out on time to develop, and the 49ers elected to decline his fifth-year option.
Tapp, who was hired by the 49ers as an assistant defensive line coach in 2021, finally got to work with a fully healthy version of Kinlaw ahead of the 2023 season. Although the 49ers chose not to re-sign Kinlaw, he did have his best performance with the team, recording 25 tackles and six quarterback hits. He got his first sack in nearly three years and ended up with a then career-high of 3.5 sacks.
Tapp said Kinlaw was “a puppy” when they first started working together. Now, while Kinlaw still has room to grow, he’s a more confident player who can both stop the run and pressure quarterbacks as an interior defender.
“He’s doing a lot of big things and really come into his own as far as his play style,” Tapp said.