Power ranking the 49ers top 10 players entering 2019
By James Jones
No. 1: George Kittle
With the season tight end George Kittle had in 2018, I had to place him as the No.1 power ranked 49er. I’d say that going into 2019, he is the best tight end in football.
In only his second season in the NFL, Kittle set the single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end in the history of the NFL, with 1,377 yards. With that record came another amazing feat, considering it was from his position.
That accomplishment came in the form of 870 yards gained after the catch.
That is an astonishing statistic, as it’s not a category one would expect a tight end to lead the league in. Yet there Kittle was, at the end, in front of players like Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Todd Gurley. Those are players we have come to expect to be at the top of this list, not a second-year tight end.
To put Kittle’s amazing feat into even more perspective. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, the man who broke the single-season receiving record mere hours before Kittle, had 569 yards after the catch, good for 10th overall. That’s almost 300 more yards after the catch short from Kittle.
Of course, Kelce has been performing at an All-Pro level for seven years now. Kittle will have to continue his success from last season if he is to place himself on the same plane as Kelce year after year.
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Kittle was one of the lone bright spots on a 49ers team that won only four games last season. He and the other players on this list could be the catalysts that produce many more victories in 2019.