How 49ers' NFL Draft homework on a 'frat guy' prospect landed them a perennial Pro Bowler

If the San Francisco 49ers ever need a reminder that “character” concerns can get overblown leading up to the NFL Draft, they need only glance at their 10-year wall.In the run-up to the 2017 draft, team officials had to reconcile the unique skills they saw in a certain prospect with a few unfavorable reports coming from his college program. The player had a reputation as a frat guy, a social butterfly, a party animal. He was rowdy and irreverent. He was someone who marched to the beat of his own drummer.That prospect: then-Iowa tight end George Kittle.Advertisement