San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle set a new single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end in 2018, but saw his team win just four games that year. He finally tasted success in his third NFL season, helping the Niners to a 13-3 record, the division crown, and a trip to the Super Bowl.
The 49ers have a unique locker room filled with close players who mesh well together. That was by design. Head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch decided early on that the goal wasn't just to bring in talented players, but unselfish players who would be good for the locker room and avoid distractions. Their attempts weren't always successful, but, for the most part, they were. It's one of the many reasons for the team's success this past season.
Even after leaving for the New Orleans Saints, wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders continues to call the 49ers locker room one of the best in which he's been part.
Kittle joined FS1's First Things First on Friday, and was asked about the team chemistry.
"This is one of the best locker rooms I've ever been a part of," Kittle responded. "It has been since I got here as a rookie. We just have such a great group of guys; guys that are focused on winning. But at the same time, they want everyone on the roster to succeed.
"There's competition, which is what you need. Competition breeds success. But at the same time, we have guys like Ahkello Witherspoon. He lost his (starting) job, but all he did was try to get back in there. He played on special teams, made some plays for us.
"We've got guys like that all over the roster that (say), 'Hey, if I can't play here, where can I play to help the team out?' We had a whole season of that from rookies to vets that have been doing that all over the field. We have a team that has that mindset.
"It just makes football a lot easier for you. You don't really have arguments. You don't have guys pointing their finger at anybody, and when you have a locker room like that, when you start winning, it's just really fun."