Fantasy football: 3 reasons not to draft 49ers TE George Kittle in 2019
By Chris Wilson
Kittle’s 2018 Usage is Unsustainable
In many ways, the 2018 NFL season was a perfect storm for the 49ers’ tight end. Despite losing his starting quarterback, Kittle quickly became the go-to receiver for backup quarterback C.J. Beathard, and then third-string QB Nick Mullens.
Kittle was the lone receiving threat at his position, as his fellow tight ends caught a total of seven passes over the entire season. He also faced little competition for targets in the passing game from the team’s wide receiving corps, which was decimated by injuries throughout the year:
https://twitter.com/cgawilson/status/1083812383070580736
For much of the season, the 49ers’ second-best receiving option was Pettis, who battled injuries throughout his rookie year. Bourne, a former undrafted free agent, led all wideouts with a total of just 487 receiving yards. San Francisco’s overall lack of consistency at the wide receiver position forced the team to utilize Kittle at levels higher than the NFL’s most elite wideouts:
After digging into the numbers, #49ers TE George Kittle @gkittle46 was an elite receiver in 2018. Given his heavy utilization and QB rotation, simply a remarkable, one-of-a-kind season for a TE. If the @49ers add a top WR and JG returns healthy, watch out, #NFL. #GoNiners #49wz pic.twitter.com/pvolFmNi2t
— Chris Wilson (@cgawilson) January 11, 2019
Luckily for San Francisco, head coach Kyle Shanahan was able to scheme Kittle into winnable situations in the passing game. However, as the season wore on, Shanahan was forced to increase his creativity as opposing teams began to focus on the Niners’ dangerous receiving threat.
Entering the 2018 season, Kittle was just another cog in Shanahan’s passing game. A year and 1,377 receiving yards later, Kittle is established as one of the NFL’s elite tight ends.
With opposing defenses’ newfound focus, the 49ers’ dependence on Kittle last season is unsustainable:
While this isn’t good news for Kittle’s fantasy outlook, it is good news for a 49ers offense that is ripe with young talent. San Francisco still has a tight end who can lead the NFL in yards-after-the-catch even when opposing teams know where the ball is going. Imagine how potent a Shanahan-led offense will be when additional viable targets are added to the mix.
Next. 2019 49ers "State of the Franchise" recap. dark
Keep loving George Kittle, because we all do. Just don’t love him in the second or third round of your 2019 fantasy football draft.