49ers trade down 1 spot before drafting DT Javon Kinlaw 14th

The San Francisco 49ers drafted South Carolina defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw 14th overall in the NFL draft on Thursday night.

The Niners traded the 13th overall pick they acquired from Indianapolis last month for star defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to move down one spot and take Buckner’s replacement.

San Francisco also got the 117th overall pick to give them a fourth-rounder and gave up the 245th pick in the deal.

Buckner was set to be a free agent next season and he got an $84 million, four-year extension from the Colts to stay off the market. San Francisco used the money it saved to keep defensive lineman Arik Armstead and safety Jimmie Ward and now has a defensive tackle as well.

This pick follows a pattern for the 49ers, who took a defensive lineman in the first round for the fifth time in the last six drafts. Some of those players, like 2019 No. 2 pick Nick Bosa, Buckner and Armstead, played a big role in San Francisco’s success last season that led to a Super Bowl appearance.

Coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch once again opted to build out from the trenches by taking Kinlaw, who is a physical mismatch at 6-foot-6, 310 pounds with athleticism that can overwhelm interior linemen.

Kinlaw is viewed as the best interior pass rushing prospect even though he only had 11 1/2 sacks his final two years at South Carolina. But he had 39 QB pressures this season, according to SportsInfo Solutions, despite playing out of position at nose tackle for more than one-third of his snaps.

With D.J. Jones expected to handle that role in San Francisco, Kinlaw will be free to get into the backfield more, rather than tie up blockers, and should thrive.

The 49ers also have the 31st pick but then aren’t scheduled to pick again until the fourth-rounder they acquired from Tampa Bay so they could look to trade down again.