San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dekoda Watson started his NFL career as a seventh-round pick by the Tampa Buccaneers in 2010. Since then, he has managed to carve out an eight-year career in the NFL.
In his first year with the 49ers, Watson has been a special teams standout and mentor to some of the 49ers' young defensive stars. During a special episode of the "No Huddle" podcast, the linebacker spoke to our own Al Sacco about what it takes to make it in the NFL, why he chose to play in San Francisco, and the arrival of Jimmy Garoppolo.
Watson also shares how the team kept it together after their 0-9 start.
"One thing I can say, we were always hungry," Watson told Sacco. "With the coaching staff, with the players, you always came out wanting to do more. It was never enough. People sit here calling (on the phone) to tell us, 'You're doing so good. You're doing so well. You're only losing by three, two points.'
"It was never enough. We never got comfortable. We never got satisfied until we got a win. And even now, we're still hungry and want to prove more and more. I just wish we had more games but with the games that we still have, we're taking full advantage of it and you want to definitely set a standard going into next season."
The 49ers are one of the hottest teams in the NFL right now and look to be a contender within the NFC West next season. However, Watson and his teammates are focused on Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Rams and will worry about next year when that time arrives.
"All I know is we're going to play and work our butts off to be the best that we can be whenever the opportunity shows up," Watson said. "And that starts now with the Rams and then the offseason program, and we'll go from there."
Within the special podcast episode, Sacco also reacts to Adam Schefter's comments about Garoppolo's contact, the 49ers being "media darlings" this offseason, and the career of Frank Gore.
You can also listen to the "No Huddle" podcast on our dedicated podcast page, iTunes, Google Play, or SoundCloud. Be sure to subscribe via iTunes as well.