As Super Bowl LIV rapidly approaches, it’s easy to get lost in the many narratives surrounding the big event. With the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers set to do battle in Miami for the right to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, much of the discussion is centered around a few particular topics.
Will Andy Reid win his first Super Bowl and cement his status as a sure-fire Hall of Fame coach? Is Patrick Mahomes about to reach new heights as the new face of the NFL? Will Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch complete one of the greatest one-year turnarounds in 49ers history? What will Jimmy Garoppolo‘s workload be after attempting only eight passes in the NFC Championship Game, and did the New England Patriots make a mistake by trading him away in 2017?
These are all valid and interesting discussions, but frankly, not enough attention is being paid to one player in particular. It’s clear that as the biggest weekend of the NFL season approaches, we need to be talking more about the game-changing performance of 49ers tight end George Kittle.
George Kittle May Very Well Be the Best in the League
To be clear, I’m not insinuating that Kittle hasn’t received plenty of recognition for his role in San Francisco’s success, but it’s clear that for as many accolades as he’s received, he’s still being overlooked. After all, Kittle came into the league without much fanfare as a fifth-round pick (146th overall) in 2017, though his athleticism absolutely jumped off the page. One look at Player Profiler’s advanced metrics shows him to be a next-level athlete with 90th-percentile or better athleticism in almost all categories.
In spite of minimal expectations, he performed admirably in his rookie campaign, snaring 43 receptions for 515 yards and a pair of touchdowns in 15 games. Kittle ended the season on a hot streak, catching 11 passes for 194 yards and a touchdown in his last three contests while showing solid chemistry with Garoppolo, the team’s newly-installed starting quarterback.
As a result, expectations were a little bit higher for the former Iowa tight end in year two, and he delivered in a big way. Kittle snagged 88 receptions for an NFL tight end-record 1,377 yards and five touchdowns en route to his first Pro Bowl appearance and national recognition as one of the best at his position.
In 2019, Kittle’s numbers fell a bit as he missed two games and played through pain in several others with multiple ailments, including a broken bone in his ankle. Still, in spite of being hobbled by injury and receiving 29 fewer targets than the year before, he managed to catch 85 passes for 1,053 yards and another five scores in a decidedly run-first offense. In the process, he earned All-Pro honors for the first time in his career, while making some of the team’s biggest plays of the season when he was needed most.
When it’s all said and done, this may very well end up being the defining image of the 2019 NFL campaign:
The best tight end in football putting the team on his back. George Kittle setting the #49ers up for the game-winner.
(🎥: @NFL)pic.twitter.com/e8H9iKK5dR— Rob Lowder (@Rob_Lowder) December 8, 2019
MVP of PFF
Recently, Pro Football Focus named Kittle their 2019 Dwight Stephenson award winner, which is awarded to the NFL player who received that highest overall grade for his performance during the regular season. While grading players is a difficult and inexact science, PFF’s system is one of the top resources out there, and according to their metrics, Kittle was the absolute best player in the league this year.
In fact, his 95.0 overall grade is the highest any tight end has ever received in the history of PFF’s system, which dates back to 2006. The second best was Rob Gronkowski‘s 1,327-yard, 17-touchdown 2011 season, which received a 92.0 grade. In fact, Gronk made five appearances in the top 10 and the lowest number on the list was his 2015 season, which received a 90.7 grade.
What that shows us is that only 1.3 grading points separated the second-best and the 10th-best tight end seasons in PFF history and that Kittle absolutely smashed the next closest grade to him by a full 3.0 points. Make no mistake about it, Kittle’s play was on another level this season and these figures make that abundantly clear.
But if Kittle had better numbers in 2018, why was he graded so much higher this year? Put simply, efficiency versus opportunity is a big reason. While Kittle’s counting stats were lower (let’s not forget the two missed games), his efficiency was greatly improved as he produced a career-high 79.4 percent catch rate in 2019. That was almost 15 percent better than the 64.7 percent figure he produced in 2018.
In fact, Kittle led all NFL players in another stat known as yards per route run with a 3.11 figure. Per PFF, it’s the first time any tight end has been tops in that category and it ranks second-best in the decade, only behind Julio Jones‘ 3.12 in 2016.
And this doesn’t even begin to discuss his production as a blocker. In addition to his incredible production as a receiver, Kittle has graded out as a top-five run blocker over the last two seasons. That run-first philosophy that the 49ers love to employ? It simply doesn’t work if pass-catchers like Kittle don’t excel at the line of scrimmage.
If you want proof of his dominance, watch the pancake block he throws on this touchdown run:
George Kittle was laughing as he pancaked a Falcons defender pic.twitter.com/spiHRh72kn
— Kevin Jones (@Mr_KevinJones) December 15, 2019
Well then. That’ll do nicely, Mr. Kittle.
Tough and Gritty
A new and emerging story that makes his performance even more impressive is the recent breaking news that Kittle has been playing with a torn labrum since the 2018 season. And no, that’s not a misprint. The man played with a torn labrum and produced two of the finest seasons in NFL history. Kittle tells the story best:
“So I dislocated my shoulder last year,” Kittle said Sunday on the Pardon My Take podcast, “and my labrum is completely torn. So I don’t get surgery on it — [The protective sleeve] basically helps me, so it doesn’t hurt all the time.”
Kittle then goes on to state that he has no intention of getting surgery any time soon because he can’t afford to “miss those workout days.” Imagine playing the most physical game in existence, blocking in the trenches like a madman, catching passes and taking big hits, dealing with frequent pain, and still producing at such an unprecedented rate. It’s nearly inconceivable. It’s no wonder they call him “Stone Cold” Kittle and it’s another reason why he’s in line for an incredibly lucrative contract extension this off-season.
Just Getting Started
In Super Bowl LIV, Kittle and Travis Kelce, the NFL’s two best tight ends in the post-Gronk landscape will meet in the biggest game of their respective careers. I’m not interested in debating which of the two is the better overall player (they’re both incredible talents), but I am willing to say that Kittle is the closest thing to Gronkowski in the league today. A premier receiving talent and an incredible (and willing) blocker, Kittle’s game is without weakness and he stands up as a truly selfless star.
During the NFC Championship, Kittle was only targeted on one of Garoppolo’s eight passes as the team relied on Raheem Mostert and the running game all day long. Of course, Kittle was his usual dominant self as a blocker and was more than happy to take his one reception for 19 yards as his team advanced to a Super Bowl for the first time in seven years.
On Sunday night, he has the opportunity to cap off two of the greatest seasons in NFL history by accomplishing the professional goal that matters most to him: winning a Lombardi Trophy. Whether or not he achieves his dream, the future is incredibly bright for the 26-year-old and the best years of his career may still be ahead. If you’re a future opponent of the San Francisco 49ers, that’s an awfully scary thought.
Whether or not he truly is the best player in the National Football League is a matter for debate, but there is no question that he has arrived as one of the most important figures in the league and will remain that way for many, many years to come. Sunday night might mark the end of the season, but it’s only the beginning for George Kittle.
