In what has been a season full of major disappointments for the San Francisco 49ers, their star tight end George Kittle has been one of the few bright spots. He hit an impressive milestone in Week 17 against the Detroit Lions by eclipsing 1,000 receiving yards.
Kittle secured 1,000 reception yards for the season in the first quarter against Detroit, hauling in two passes for 38 receiving yards. Kittle has also had eight receiving touchdowns for San Francisco this season, which leads the team.
The 31 year old has reached the 1,000-yard mark on three other occassions in his distinguished career, in 2018, 2019, and 2023.
The fact that he has continued to be so effective later into his career is a testament to the kind of player he is.
The University of Iowa product has over 7,000 receiving yards in his eight-year career and he shows no signs of slowing down. The fact that Kittle has been able to thrive in 2024 despite the fact San Francisco has been without key offensive weapons like running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk for much of the season shows the "People's Tight End" can dominate even when there is added attention on him from opposing defenses.
Kittle is also in good company with other 49ers greats. Kevin Molina shared on X that only two pass-catchers in San Francisco history have more 1,000-yard seasons:
George Kittle just crossed the 1,000 receiving mark for the 4th time in his career
— Kevin A Molina (@KevinAMolina) December 31, 2024
Only 3 49ers in the history of the franchise have 4 or more 1K seasons
Kittle (4)
Terrell Owens (5)
Jerry Rice (12)
It is never a bad thing for a 49ers player to be on the same list as Terrell Owens and the greatest wide receiver of all time, Jerry Rice.
Kittle himself said recently that Rice's records are almost certainly out of reach, but he wants to eclipse some of T.O.'s records, which seems very possible.
Kittle's phenomenal 2024 season makes a strong case for Kittle being a future Hall of Famer and he could also be a future member of San Francisco's Mt. Rushmore of all-time greats. If it were not for Travis Kelce, Kittle would be the undisputed best tight end in all of football.
He is now in elite company regarding some of the best tight ends in NFL history.
George Kittle joins historic company https://t.co/71JsvHRa6H pic.twitter.com/OSWExAqv8a
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) December 31, 2024
Not only does Kittle rack up receiving yards consistently, he also blocks well and is a good teammate. He is basically everything a coach would want in a football player.
Let's hope Kittle can continue to put up great stats as he continues on his current trajectory to being one of the best pass-catchers in the storied history of the San Francisco 49ers.