San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle seemingly came out of nowhere—at least, to those who didn't follow the Niners closely—when he set a new NFL single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end two seasons ago.
The 26-year-old Iowa product didn't have much production as a receiving threat throughout his collegiate career but has developed into one of the NFL's best tight ends. He is a two-time Pro Bowl selection, and this past season was named a first-team All-Pro.
Jay Glazer of FOX Sports recently asked Kittle, a fifth-round pick out of Iowa by San Francisco in 2017, what clicked for him upon entering the NFL.
"I think a lot of it was just figuring out the speed of the game in the NFL," Kittle responded. "Just gaining confidence. The weeks of being in coach Shanahan's system, being with the team, just having leaders like Joe Staley, Garrett Celek, guys that took me under their wing.
"I was lucky to fall into the type of team I was with. I have great guys on that team, and they just kind of helped me reach that level, and I kind of learned a lot from them. I was trying to be a sponge around Joe Staley as much as I could, and other vets. I think it just kind of all helped out.
"I feel like I kind of grew into my body a little bit, too. I look a lot different than I did my rookie year. I just, overall, grew my body, I think."
How @gkittle46 went from a 5th Round Draft pick to an All-Pro TE with the @49ers.
(@JayGlazer) pic.twitter.com/OAUCgpXdtG
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) May 7, 2020
Kittle doesn't view being a fifth-round selection as an insult. It's not something that provides a chip on his shoulder. Fans can tell that Kittle is having a lot of fun playing football, and would be doing so whether he was a first-round selection or an undrafted free agent.
"Guys like looking at stats," Kittle added. "I did not have a lot of production in college. I was hurt a lot in college, so I think a lot of teams saw me as a risk, and I understand that. But I was just more happy at the fact that I had an opportunity to play in the NFL because that was my dream as a little kid.
"The fact that I had that opportunity, I just kind of took it upon myself to not squander that opportunity, and to do what I could with it. So far, I think I'm doing pretty good, and I'm just going to try to keep getting better."
Kittle hauled in 85 receptions for 1,053 yards with five touchdowns through 14 starts with the 49ers in 2019. He has caught 216 passes for 2,945 yards with 12 scores through his three NFL seasons.
H/t to Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Bay Area for the find