49ers grooming Charlie Woerner to take over for George Kittle?
By Peter Panacy
George Kittle nor Charlie Woerner weren’t college receiving threats before joining 49ers
If teams could do a redraft from the 2017 NFL Draft, George Kittle would be a top-10 selection. Perhaps in the top five. No questioning that. Yet the Niners managed to grab the former Iowa tight end in Round 5 even though they reportedly had a third-round grade on him.
One of the reasons Kittle fell is likely due to the relatively lackluster receiving numbers he put up in Iowa’s primarily run-first offense:
| Receiving | Rushing | Scrimmage | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Plays | Yds | Avg | TD |
| *2013 | Iowa | Big Ten | FR | UT | 3 | 5 | 108 | 21.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 108 | 21.6 | 0 | |
| *2014 | Iowa | Big Ten | SO | TE | 3 | 1 | 25 | 25.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 25.0 | 0 | |
| *2015 | Iowa | Big Ten | JR | TE | 10 | 20 | 290 | 14.5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 290 | 14.5 | 6 | |
| *2016 | Iowa | Big Ten | SR | TE | 9 | 22 | 314 | 14.3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 314 | 14.3 | 4 | |
| Career | Iowa | 48 | 737 | 15.4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 737 | 15.4 | 10 |
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 7/30/2020.
These certainly aren’t the number echoed by two of Kittle’s former collegiate teammates, T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant, Iowa tight ends who were drafted much higher than Kittle was.
Charlie Woerner, meanwhile, also spent time in a run-first system at Georgia. Like Kittle, the overall receiving numbers were pedestrian at best:
| Receiving | Rushing | Scrimmage | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Plays | Yds | Avg | TD |
| *2016 | Georgia | SEC | FR | TE | 5 | 5 | 50 | 10.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 50 | 10.0 | 0 | |
| *2017 | Georgia | SEC | SO | TE | 6 | 9 | 100 | 11.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 100 | 11.1 | 0 | |
| *2018 | Georgia | SEC | JR | TE | 9 | 11 | 148 | 13.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 148 | 13.5 | 0 | |
| *2019 | Georgia | SEC | SR | TE | 7 | 9 | 78 | 8.7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 78 | 8.7 | 1 | |
| Career | Georgia | 34 | 376 | 11.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 376 | 11.1 | 1 |
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 7/30/2020.
None of this is to suggest Woerner is of the same pro-level ilk as Kittle. Again, Kittle is a generational talent, and those don’t come around very often. It was a steal for San Francisco to grab Kittle so late.
Doing so twice in the late rounds of the draft between a four-year period would be almost impossible.
Yet Kittle and Woerner both had one element in common, and that’s potentially a reason why the Niners could potentially be comfortable moving on from the two-time Pro Bowler in 2021: blocking skills.