George Kittle isn’t just a dominant pass catcher. He’s been the most dominant pass-catching tight end in NFL history through his first three seasons.
In Sunday’s loss to the Falcons, Kittle pulled in 13 receptions for 134 yards. Those 134 yards vaulted him past Jimmy Graham, Rob Gronkowski and Mike Ditka for the most ever by a tight end through three seasons.
Here’s what the list looks like after Sunday:
1. George Kittle – 2,780 yards
2. Mike Ditka – 2,774 yards
3. Rob Gronkwoski – 2,648 yards
Kittle has two games left to pad his lead.
He’s also up to 204 career receptions. Kellen Winslow and Jimmy Graham are the only other players to reach the 200-catch plateau through three seasons. Kittle passed Winslow, who had 202 after three years. Graham is the record holder at 215, which Kittle is on pace to surpass.
The one area Kittle falls behind that group is touchdowns. He has just 11 through his first two-plus seasons. Gronkowski had 38 touchdown catches. Ditka, Graham and Antonio Gates all had 25 each.
That speaks to the type of weapon Kittle is though. He’s not the traditional, big-bodied tight end who’s going to do a ton of damage in the red zone, although he probably could be utilized better in that area. It doesn’t help his touchdown totals that much of his career has been spent with Brian Hoyer, CJ Beathard and Nick Mullens throwing to him.
Kittle instead uses a combination of speed, power and tenacity to be a multifaceted weapon that kickstarts the 49ers offense on screens, sweeps, slants, and whatever else San Francisco needs him to do. His run-after-the-catch ability may be second to none at his position historically, and he’s used that to put together one of the most dominant starts to a career ever at his position.
