George Kittle is the starting tight end for the San Francisco 49ers. He played football and basketball in high school at Iowa City West High School before committing to the University of Iowa to play college football. Kittle played on an offense that prides itself on its rushing attack. As such, Kittle did not accrue impressive counting stats in college. He caught only 48 passes during his four seasons with the team, gaining 737 yards. He did 10 touchdowns, however, in his final two seasons at Iowa.
Kittle's workout metrics entering the 2017 NFL Draft were tiptop. He recorded a 96th-percentile 40-time, Speed Score, and Catch Radius. His athletic profile, however, is highlighted by his 99th-percentile Agility Score. Despite his obvious athletic prowess, the 49ers were able to acquire Kittle in the 5th round of the draft.
Kittle recorded a modest 515 yards in his 2017 rookie season, but broke out in a massive way in the following season. He led all tight ends with 1,377 receiving yards - 857 of them coming after the catch. At the time, that was a single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end (a record that has since been broken by Travis Kelce). Kittle paced all tight ends that season with 3.49 Yards Per Pass Route Run and a 26.4-percent Air Yards Share. He had 210 receiving yards against Denver in Week 14, all of which came in the first half of the game. He posted 1,000 yards again in 2019 and once again led all tight ends in YAC and YPPR.
Before the 2020 season, Kittle signed a five-year, $75M contract with the 49ers, making him the highest-paid tight end in the NFL. Kittle only played eight games in 2020 as he battled MCL and foot injuries. He again led all tight ends in YPPR, however, and was No.2 in Yards Per Target. Kittle was back healthy in 2021, leading all tight ends playing 92.4 percent of snaps. He was also No.4 in receiving yards despite only 346 routes run (the 19th most at the position). He was second in YAC among all tight ends and dropped just one pass. Kittle has been top-4 in Expected Points Added (EPA) from 2019-2022.
In 2022, Kittle caught 11 touchdowns, propelling him to 13.4 (No. 2) fantasy points per game. With Brock Purdy and Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback, Kittle had 765 (No. 5) receiving yards, including 354 (No. 6) Yards After Catch. He was used often as a blocker and with a bevy of weapons available on the 49ers offense, he will see less volume than early in his career. 2023 was a strong year for Kittle as he eclipsed over 1,000 receiving yards for the third time in his career. It was the first time he hit that mark since 2019. Kittle proved that he is one of the league’s most physical tight ends and is a consensus top-5 option at the position.
