Tashaun Gipson has been in the league since 2012, when the Cleveland Browns signed him as an undrafted free agent. He's been part of some pretty good defenses during his 11 seasons, arriving at the San Francisco 49ers last year.
Gipson is part of a safety duo that includes Talanoa Hufanga, one of the league's best. But there is talent all around the defense, a unit that ranked No. 1 in the NFL last season. How good is this 49ers defense this year?
"Like nothing I've ever seen before," Gipson responded Friday on KNBR. "And I say that confidently. I'm a guy, I have a lot of love for those guys [on previous teams], and what we did there. I'm not big on comparisons, but I got to say this, truly, from top to bottom, you got gold-jacket players in every level of this defense, and that's just a testament of the type of guys we have.
"Not only that, selfless guys. Guys are selfless. Team-first kind of guys. Really hard when you got superstars like that on every level to be selfless, team-first guys. I mean, let's just be honest, some of the greatest players, they got to be selfish. That's why they are great, in a sense. So, we have a lot of selfless guys. But everybody battles themselves to be great, each day and every day."
Hufanga, entering his third NFL season, is still a newcomer to the game compared to Gipson. But he's already earned respect from his peers. Hufanga earned Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors last season, and was recently voted to the "NFL Top 100 Players of 2023."
Gipson sees the pursuit of greatness from the 23-year-old safety.
"I'm back there with Huff, and he'll miss a play, and he'll talk about it for two hours straight," Gipson said. "And I just tell him, 'Flush it, dude. You got to flush it, bro.' He won't drop it because that's just the greatness he demands of himself."
Then you have the rest of the defense, which should continue to frustrate opposing offenses in 2023.
"Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw, obviously, Nick Bosa, a Defensive Player of the Year," Gipson said. "[There's] so many good guys on this team, and we just flow so well. Everybody knows their role, and we play our roles the right way, and that's what makes this defense successful."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Gipson below.