San Francisco 49ers: 2019 ‘State of the Franchise’ (Tight end)

Niner Noise continues its ‘State of the Franchise’ series with a look at the San Francisco 49ers’ tight end position group, highlighted by All-Pro TE George Kittle.

In 2018, the San Francisco 49ers’ offense ran through second-year tight end George Kittle. Last season, the former fifth-round draft pick earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl and broke the single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end, despite playing through a mid-season rib cartilage fracture.

Kittle amassed 88 receptions over the course of the 2018 NFL regular season, but the remainder of the team’s tight ends managed to haul in a total of just seven catches.

49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan — in his continuing mission to be “multiple” on offense — knew San Francisco needed to add talent to the position group in 2019. Over the offseason, the duo added a pair of rookies and one familiar veteran tight end to compete with the team’s holdovers for the two potential roster spots behind Kittle. Today, we’ll break down this important training camp positional battle.

In Niner Noise’s “State of the Franchise” series, we look at the current state of the San Francisco 49ers’ 2019 roster — position by position —  as the team inches closer to training camp, which kicks off in just three weeks. Adam Schefter of ESPN was the first to report that rookies and veterans will report to 49ers camp on July 26, 2019, which was later confirmed by the NFL:

If you’re looking for full player profiles, Niner Noise’s ‘Who Is?’ series analyzes every player on San Francisco’s current 90-man roster. The series includes player projections for the upcoming NFL season and breaks down why each Niner is likely to improve or regress in 2019.

Now, on to the San Francisco 49ers’ tight ends: