George Kittle has proven to be one of the great draft steals in many years. The San Francisco 49ers selected the tight end from Iowa in the fifth round, 146th overall, in 2017. Eight TEs were chosen before Kittle. How did that work out?
O.J. Howard (first, 19 overall)
O.J. Howard came out of Alabama to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a big rep and high hopes for the NFC South team. It has not materialized. Howard does have 12 TD catches — the same number as Kittle — but he has far less receptions, 94 for 1,456 yards.
Evan Engram (1, 23)
The Giants were looking to get Eli Manning a big tight end to target when they drafted Evan Engram out of Ole Miss. Like Howard and Kittle, he has 12 TD receptions among his 153 catches for 1,766 yards. Due to injury and less games played, Engram’s production catches and yardage has dropped every year after his rookie campaign.
David Njoku (1, 29)
David Njoku came to the Cleveland Browns from Miami (FL). The 6-foot-4, 246-pounder played in four games in 2019 due to injury and had five catches for 41 yards. He had 88 total grabs for better than 1,000 yards over his first two seasons.
Gerald Everett (2, 44)
Gerald Everett has improve his catch total in each of his first three seasons, going from 16 to 33 to 37. He also has improved yardage each year and has a total of 973 yards and seven TDs. The South Alabama product has shown flashes but nothing like Kittle.
Adam Shaheen (2, 45)
The Chicago Bears did some deep scouting to find Adam Shaheen, who played college ball at Ashland. Shaheen played one year of college basketball at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. In 2014, he transferred to Ashland University and joined the football team as a walk-on. During his college career, he had 129 receptions for 1,755 yards and 26 touchdowns. As a Bear, he has played in 27 games in three seasons with 26 catches for 249 yards and four TDs.
Jonnu Smith (3,100)
The Titans found Jonnu Smith out of Florida International. He was going to be in a great position to learn behind the excellent tight end Delanie Walker. Smith had his best season in 2019 with 35 catches for 439 yards. Overall, he has 73 grabs for 854 yards and 8 receiving TDs.
Michael Roberts (4, 127)
Michael Roberts was chosen by the Lions out of Toledo. He had 13 catches in two seasons for 146 yards. On June 17, 2019, Roberts was claimed off waivers by the Green Bay Packers, but was waived two days later after failing his physical
Jake Butt (5, 145)
Jake Butt played college ball at Michigan. The Broncos drafted the tight end despite the fact he suffered a torn his ACL in the 2016 Orange Bowl and suffered nerve damage which, prior to physical therapy, had completely immobilized his leg. Butt missed 2017 while rehabbing. He played in three games in 2018 with eight catches. On Sept. 2, 2019, Butt was placed on injured reserve due to complications with his previous ACL injury
George Kittle (5, 146)
George Kittle can do it all. Pretty, pretty good for a fifth-round pick out of Iowa. Kittle can catch, can run and can block. As a Hawkeye he played in 25 games over four seasons with 48 catches for 737 yards and 10 touchdowns. In three NFL seasons, he has 216 catches for 2,945 yards and a dozen TDs in his first three seasons with the Niners.
