3 reasons why George Kittle is ranked No. 1 tight end in 2021
By Peter Panacy
No. 2: George Kittle should enjoy a more potent 49ers offense
It’s probably been easy to be Travis Kelce over the last three years. Especially with quarterback Patrick Mahomes and a high-powered Chiefs offense doing essentially whatever they want at will.
While George Kittle has regularly defended and backed his own quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, one can fairly wonder just how bigger Kittle’s stat sheet and impact would be if he had a far more prolific signal-caller, or even a much more balanced offense than the one Kittle played in during 2018 and for half of 2020.
San Francisco could make the switch from Garoppolo to rookie quarterback Trey Lance this season, so that’s something to monitor.
But the bigger boost to Kittle should be a significantly upgraded 49ers offense with an improved offensive line and (hopefully) full healthy wide receiver tandem of Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.
True, Kittle set his single-season mark in receiving yards with three different quarterbacks. Yet getting some consistency under center should make his life a lot easier.
A revamped and reinforced Niners offense may not be anything close to what Kelce enjoys with the Chiefs. But considering Kittle has done “more with less” not long ago, even modest improvements here could make a world of difference.