The San Francisco 49ers have been pretty fortunate to have some great tight ends in the history of the franchise. Whether it’s Brent Jones, Vernon Davis, or George Kittle, the Niners have gotten a lot of production out of that position.
Recently, Kyle Odegard caught up with Davis and asked him about Kittle. Specifically, he asked him about how he feels Kittle will fare this season given the fact he’s older and coming off a big injury.
Davis does not seem to be concerned:
“From experience, I feel like the older I got, the better I got… George Kittle is the type of tight end that is only going to get better.”
His reasoning is that he feels even if some of the physical traits like speed and agility lessen as one ages, Kittle is still technically sound and knows how to run routes and block properly, so he should be able to have some longevity even though he is now age 32 and suffered a torn Achilles last season.
It’s a nice reminder because it’s only natural to have some fears about Kittle. He’s been arguably one of the best tight end in football for years now, but when he went down with a major injury, there’s going to be concern about it limiting his play or even the length of his career.
But looking at other great NFL tight ends, many of them last a long time. Antonio Gates played until he was 38 years old. Tony Gonzalez made it until he was 37. Travis Kelce is still playing at the age of 36. Davis himself made it to age 35.
If we are lucky, we will get at least five more years of Kittle playing in the NFL.
The Niners just have to be careful with him going forward. If he does play in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams in Australia, he should be on a snap count. The 49ers have to ease him back into things and slowly build his confidence back up. Thankfully, Jake Tonges proved last season he can fill in nicely, so utilizing him and fullback Kyle Juszczyk will be essential as Kittle works his way back to being fully comfortable.
It’s nice to hear Davis give an optimistic take on Kittle when most of the takes are doom and gloom. Davis knows what it takes to be an effective tight end in the NFL for a long time, so if he thinks Kittle has a lot more in the tank, then he is probably right.
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