It might be hard to fathom, but 49ers tight end George Kittle was ‘this close’ to being drafted by the Seahawks and not the Niners back in 2017.
San Francisco 49ers fans can breathe a sigh of relief knowing All-Pro tight end George Kittle is, well… with the Niners.
And probably more importantly, not with the Seattle Seahawks.
Kittle joined FanSided’s Matt Verderame recently on the Stacking the Box podcast, which will air soon. But Verderame shared a pretty interesting tidbit about Kittle’s experience during the 2017 NFL Draft when he was, at least at the time, a relatively unknown tight end out of Iowa.
According to Verderame, Kittle’s agent received a call from Seattle saying the Seahawks were going to draft him in Round 5.
Fortunately for Kittle and the rest of us, San Francisco grabbed him at No. 146 overall.
Just wrapped a great interview with George Kittle for Stacking The Box on @FanSided.
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) April 28, 2021
Fun nugget: On Kittle's draft day, the Seahawks called his agent to say they were trading up for him.
At the same time, Kittle's phone rang. The 49ers were taking him. Good timing by SF.
“The People’s Tight End” has gone on to become both a fan favorite and cult personality, both with the 49ers and across the league. And while he might not have garnered a ton of attention at the time, at least Niner Noise pointed out shortly after the 2017 draft he could be special.
Well, we were right.
Could you imagine George Kittle in a Seahawks uniform?
Fortunately, Niners fans don’t have to think too much about this. And the thought of Kittle being in another jersey aside from the red and gold is something he actually played with last April Fools Day:
Next chapter... thanks to the faithful for all the support! #DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/AlkXlRe3J9
— George Kittle (@gkittle46) April 1, 2021
If Kittle was super intent on messing with the Faithful, he might have chosen to don a Seahawks uniform instead of that of the Jacksonville Jaguars for his joke.
Even if it wasn’t true, it surely would have made Kittle cringe.
Kittle certainly could have thrived with San Francisco’s NFC West division rivals. Instead of him setting single-season records with the 49ers, he probably would have become one of those players acting as a thorn in the side of Niners teams at least twice a year, particularly with quarterback Russell Wilson throwing to him.
Thankfully, though, we don’t have to worry about that. George Kittle is a 49ers player, plain and simple.
Good timing, Niners.