'I Know What It's Like': Jets' Javon Kinlaw Eager To Aid Playoff Push
The New York Jets may have the NFL's longest postseason drought at 13 seasons, but their roster is rife with playoff experience.
Yes, there's Aaron Rodgers and his merry band of friends, but other players have their fair share of experience as well. One such player is one of the newest members of the Jets, defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw. Over the past three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, Kinlaw has taken part in three NFC Championship Games as well as Super Bowl LVIII.
With that wealth of experience under his belt, Kinlaw is ready to try and help his new team reach similar heights.
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"It's a whole new level in the playoffs, you're all playing at a new intensity," Kinlaw told the Jets' site. "The main thing I would say about is that most of the guys you go up against in the playoffs, the guys are dwindling. It's about the work you put in during the year so in the playoffs you got more to lean on than the guy in front of you.
"That's what you work so hard for during the year, what you work for to get to those games, you've got to have more in the tank. Both are exhausted from a long year, but who's got more in the tank? That's what I'm bringing -- work super hard all season long. It's not about the offseason only. Even in-season, when you're sore, beat up, you still have to grind, you still gotta work. Because when those games come, I'm telling you, it means the world to know you have an extra step on somebody, that you got more power than them."
Kinlaw, the No. 14 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, may be a newcomer to the Big Apple, but he's very familiar with how the team operates. The South Carolina product now gets to reunite with head coach Robert Saleh and defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton, both of whom he worked with during his rookie season in San Francisco.
Before they can think about the playoffs, the Jets first need to make it through the gauntlet that is the regular season. For Kinlaw, though, the pieces are all there for a playoff run.
"I know what it's like in those [playoff] games, money-wise especially," Kinlaw said. "I know what it's like -- the physicality, the energy. I want to go back. This team has everything it needs to make a push to the playoffs."
