When the San Francisco 49ers selected George Kittle in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft with the 146th overall pick, it's tough to imagine anyone thinking he would become one of the greatest tight ends in league history.
After all, in four years with the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Wisconsin native tallied just 48 receptions for 737 yards and 10 touchdowns. But the Niners clearly saw something special in him, and he's undoubtedly rewarded the franchise for taking such a gamble.
In eight seasons in the Bay, Kittle has earned six Pro Bowl selections and made five total All-Pro teams (two First Team, three Second Team), catching 538 passes for 7,380 yards and 45 touchdowns, thus ranking third, third, and eighth, respectively, among every pass catcher in 49ers history.
Now, it probably goes without saying, but the 31-year-old is never going to sit atop the franchise leaderboard in any of those three categories, as the team record in each will always and forever belong to the one and only Jerry Rice, who recorded 1,281 receptions for 19,247 yards and 176 touchdowns in his 16 seasons in San Francisco.
That said, however, with a strong 2025 campaign, Kittle can move into second place in receptions and receiving yardage and can also vault into the top five in receiving touchdowns. Let's have a quick look at what he needs to do to make that happen.
George Kittle needs 55 catches to move into second on the 49ers' all-time receptions list
Here's how the current leaderboard on the 49ers' all-time receptions list shakes out heading into the 2025 season.
Player | Seasons | Receptions |
|---|---|---|
Jerry Rice | 1985-2000 | 1,281 |
Terrell Owens | 1996-2003 | 592 |
George Kittle | 2017-2024 | 538 |
As you can see, Kittle needs just 55 receptions to surpass Terrell Owens for solo second, which, barring some sort of significant injury, shouldn't be a problem.
Only twice in his career has Kittle fallen short of that figure. The first instance was his rookie year when he caught 43 passes, so that really doesn't even count. And the second was in 2020, when he recorded just 48, the only reason being that he missed eight games.
Over the past four years, he's averaged 68.5 receptions per season, and that's with missing eight combined games during that stretch. So, again, he should be all set.
Kittle needs 1,193 yards to move into second on San Francisco's all-time receiving yards list
Now, let's have a look at the top three on San Francisco's all-time receiving yards list.
Player | Seasons | Receiving Yards |
|---|---|---|
Jerry Rice | 1985-2000 | 19,247 |
Terrell Owens | 1996-2003 | 8,572 |
George Kittle | 2017-2024 | 7,380 |
Vaulting into solo second here will be a bit more challenging for Kittle, as he needs 1,193 yards to pass T.O. in this category.
It's certainly not impossible, but history is working against him, as he's only reached that number once in his career, going for a career-best 1,377 yards in 2018.
However, despite missing two games this past year, he did notch the second-highest total of his career with 1,106 yards. Assuming he maintained his per-game average of 73.7 yards in those two contests, Kittle would've ended the year with 1,253 yards. So, this is doable.
Kittle needs just five TDs to move into solo fifth on the 49ers' all-time receiving touchdowns list
And finally, we come to the 49ers' all-time receiving touchdowns list, where, as mentioned, Kittle currently ranks eighth.
Player | Seasons | Receiving Touchdowns |
|---|---|---|
Jerry Rice | 1985-2000 | 176 |
Terrell Owens | 1996-2003 | 81 |
Gene Washington | 1969-1977 | 59 |
Vernon Davis | 2006-2015 | 55 |
Billy Wilson | 1951-1960 | 49 |
Alyn Beals | 1946-1951 | 49 |
Dwight Clark | 1979-1987 | 48 |
George Kittle | 2017-2024 | 45 |
As you can see, however, despite sitting below several players, it shouldn't take Kittle long to move past the three directly ahead of him and into the top five, as he needs just five to get to 50, thus surpassing Dwight Clark, Alyn Beals, and Billy Wilson.
As he's only reached double-digit TDs once, going for a career-high 11 in 2022, it'll be tough to catch fellow tight end Vernon Davis for fourth.
Nevertheless, George Kittle is primed to make all sorts of 49ers history during this upcoming season, and he'll undoubtedly be entertaining as ever in doing so.