San Francisco 49ers: Stacking up the tight ends against the NFC West
By Kevin Saito
San Francisco 49ers
Key Contributors: George Kittle, Garrett Celek
The tight end spot isn’t a real strength of any team in the NFC West, to be quite blunt. Which means, that the 49ers may have the best tight ends group in the division almost by default.
With the athletes they have, in a Shanahan-run system that makes terrific use of their tight ends, San Francisco may be the best in what’s a so-so position group in the division.
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Last season, George Kittle had a bit of a breakout year with the 49ers. Largely unheralded and with very little buzz, Kittle came to them from Iowa last year as a fifth-round draft pick. Most pegged the six-foot-four, 250 pounder as a blocking tight end.
It’s not hard to see why there wasn’t a lot of fanfare surrounding Kittle, given that he finished his four-year Hawkeyes career with 48 receptions for 737 yards, and 10 touchdowns.
Kittle surprised many in his first year though, going for 515 yards on 43 receptions, and a pair of scores.
Kittle will definitely benefit from being in the offensive system he found himself in. Shanahan has a proven track record of utilizing his tight ends very effectively. In Atlanta, Shanahan’s tight ends were fifth in the league in yards per catch. While with the Browns, his tight ends ranked second in the category.
Which means, that if Kittle can stay healthy – he was plagued by nagging injuries last season – as well as correct the problem with drops he had, he’s poised for a breakout season. He could put up big numbers in Shanahan’s offense and become an integral part of the offense.