What do the Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, and Chicago Bears all have in common? If you are a San Francisco 49ers fan, you probably know the answer. Those are all of the teams that gave up on running back Raheem Mostert before the Niners picked him up in 2016.
Now, Mostert will play in the Super Bowl.
For most, the running back has come out of nowhere in his long journey from an NFL castoff to a potential Super Bowl star. The 49ers will face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in Super Bowl LIV, and Mostert figures to be a big part of the game plan.
"Those rejections, I've always been the underdog in my life," Mostert said on Thursday, "and so it's just one of those things that I just try to brush off, and if something bad happens to me, I'm just going to look at it as a positive and learn from it, learn from my mistakes, learn from others' mistakes because I know, when it comes around, I'm not going to make the same mistake twice. And I'm going to do my best to go out there to produce and to do whatever I have to do."
Mostert had 29 carries for 220 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the NFC Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers. His rushing-yard total set a franchise record for the most in a single game, regular season or postseason, and ranked second all-time in NFL playoff history. Only Eric Dickerson (248 in 1986) had more.
Mostert knows he could not have done it without great blocking. One of those blockers is the NFL's best and most versatile fullbacks, Kyle Juszczyk.
"His skill set is unparalleled," Mostert said. "If you go and watch other fullbacks in this league — not to dog them or anything — he's really the best fullback that ever played this game, just because he's so versatile. He can make key blocks, he can catch, he can actually run the ball too. He was doing that in Baltimore.
"Even when I was with him in Baltimore, he was doing those things. It just carried over into an offense like what we have. Like I said, that guy, he can't be touched, and he does a great job, and I really appreciate him for that."