These days, the San Francisco 49ers’ George Kittle is widely regarded as the best tight end in the NFL not named Travis Kelce.
At 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, he is fairly big, and he plays the game with a strength and physicality that makes him seem larger than he is.
But there was a time when Kittle didn’t have the physique needed to play the tight end position, as he says he weighed a modest 180 pounds when he graduated from high school.
He even said that he would use a trick to make himself look taller than he was at the time.
Official visit 190 lbs 😂😂 wore air forces to be taller 🫡
—George Kittle (@gkittle46) April 5, 2023
Kittle was certainly a late bloomer, and if one judged him merely based on his college stats, there would’ve been very low expectations for him moving forward.
In four seasons at the University of Iowa, he has totaled 737 yards and 10 touchdowns in 25 career games.
On the other hand, Kelce had 722 yards and eight touchdowns in his last season at the University of Cincinnati.
Kittle was only a fifth-round draft pick by the 49ers in 2017, but with 515 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie, he showed promise, and he blossomed in 2018 with 1,377 yards, five touchdowns, and his first Pro Bowl nod.
So far, in six seasons he has been selected to the Pro Bowl four times, and had it not been for a foot injury in 2020, he might have five straight Pro Bowl selections to his name.
Kittle has become a security blanket for San Francisco’s offense, and with some luck, he could add a Super Bowl ring to his award case months from now.
