Particularly now that Jordan Reed is in town.
Kittle is the featured attraction and headline grabber among San Francisco tight end after earning first-team All-Pro honors last season, then signed a five-year, $75 million contract in August that smashed the NFL pay scale at the position and set a new league standard for tight ends.
But with Reed joining the team, Kittle potentially has an exceptionally strong complementary group of tight ends around him. Reed has big-time playmaking ability as well, earning Pro Bowl honors in 2016 with Washington after a stretch during which he recorded 153 receptions for 1,638 yards and 17 touchdowns over the previous two seasons.
For comparison, Kittle enters this season with 12 career touchdown receptions.
“I think everybody’s aware of Jordan’s ability,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “When he’s been healthy, he’s played at an extremely high level and he’s been one of the best third-down tight ends in the league. I got to spend a year with him, so I’m familiar with the person and player and what he brings. I know he’s a talented guy who’s very hungry to get back out there and play football.”
Shanahan was Washington’s offensive coordinator during Reed’s rookie season with the Redskins, when Reed produced 45 receptions for 499 yards and three touchdowns in just nine games. Reed would follow that with seasons of 50, 87 and 66 receptions and had 54 catches in 2018 before injuries threatened his career.
Denne historien er fra September 2020-utgaven av Niner Report.
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Denne historien er fra September 2020-utgaven av Niner Report.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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EIGHT IS ENOUGH
Set 49ers lineup still has several new starters
Calling all cornerbacks
Loss of Verrett exposes 49ers’ thin depth at CB
Always finding their way to run
49ers system accomplished at developing homegrown talent
ANOTHER COMEBACK?
Resilient veteran Verrett to miss rest of season
TOP 10 Rookie running backs
THE BACK LIST
STOCK UP STOCK DOWN
DEOMMODORE LENOIR | AMBRY THOMAS
Will Mostert run for 49ers again?
Raheem Mostert was primed this year to be the centerpiece of one of the NFL’s most dynamic offenses, featured as the lead performer in San Francisco’s grinding rushing attack while making his climb among the league’s top running backs.
THE WONDER OF WARNER
49ers make All-Pro star highest-paid LB in NFL
Making the right choice at QB
In the weeks that follow after you read this — and perhaps sometime even sooner than that — Kyle Shanahan and the rest of the 49ers organization will make a titanic decision that will have present, future and perhaps even everlasting implications for the franchise. It will chart the course for the team’s pivotal 2021 season while determining whether San Francisco really does have the juice to return to powerhouse status and again be considered a legitimate contender to get back to the Super Bowl.
TOP 10 Linebacker seasons
Fred Warner vaulted to stardom with a spectacular 2020 season — and the 49ers rewarded him this summer with a $95.225 million deal that makes him the highest-paid inside linebacker in NFL history. By today’s standards, Warner’s performance last year was worth the money as he posted an Approximate Value of 19 — matching the highest score ever recorded by a San Francisco defender according to a Pro Football Reference formula that puts a single number on each player-season across all positions since 1960. Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman (twice) also had seasons with an AV of 19 as they dominate this list of the greatest individual seasons by a linebacker in 49ers history.
