San Francisco tight end George Kittle burst onto the scene last year, going from relative obscurity to 1,377 receiving yards, an NFL record for a tight end. So what will he do for an encore?
He might just be even better. 49ers tight ends coach John Embree says there’s actually still a lot Kittle can improve after his first two seasons in the NFL.
“His footwork, getting in and out of breaks, certain routes that he really, in my mind, struggles getting in and out of his break to be clean with it,” Embree said, via Jennifer Lee Chan of NBCSportsBayArea.com. “His weight, he has a tendency to lean back a little bit so just working on those things in certain routes to help him try to continue to take the next step. He left a lot on the field between drops and he and Jimmy [Garoppolo] not connecting. So yeah, he can do a lot more. He could do a lot more and not have the same numbers too.”
If Kittle doesn’t have the same numbers this year, it may be because defenses are a lot more ready for him than they were a year ago.
“But also, if he’s going to get that kind of attention, then we can get George as a decoy and get other people open and when they get open that will loosen people up and keep them in one-on-one match ups,” Embree said.
Kittle being even better in 2019 than he was in 2018 could be a scary proposition for the 49ers’ opponents.