After a record-breaking 2018 season, San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle has earned a lot of national recognition, which carried over to the 2019 Pro Bowl coverage team.
The San Francisco 49ers didn't have a lot of things going for them over the course of 2018. But second-year pro tight end George Kittle ended up being a pretty good storyline. Not just in Northern California, but at the national level.
Kittle ended up being one of three representatives for the 49ers at the 2019 Pro Bowl in Orlando, Florida. And after setting a new NFL record for single-season receiving yards by a tight end (1,377), Kittle ended up leading all pass catchers with five grabs during the NFL all-star game on Sunday, netting 39 yards in the process. And while he wasn't able to display the massive yards-after-catch efforts that made him so notable in the regular season, at least the ESPN broadcast crew didn't shy away from giving the tight end plenty of praise.
"It was a huge year for him," ESPN color commentator, and former Dallas Cowboys tight end, Jason Witten said during the Pro Bowl broadcast. "I think early on, people were like, 'OK, they're beat up and they're not going to have this type of season.' And he never gave up. He is a really good football player. He understands [head coach] Kyle Shanahan's system. He runs underneath, the play action.
"It's an art. There's an art to it, as a tight end, to play in that system. He's physical as a tight end. Not only in the passing game, but in run blocking as well."
"The future is bright for Mr. Kittle"
Listen in as the @ESPNNFL crew breaks down @gkittle46's #ProBowl season.
📺: ESPN/ABC pic.twitter.com/XCtLw5BSZu
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 27, 2019
Indeed, Kittle's run-blocking efforts were commendable in 2018. Pro Football Focus graded Kittle with a 73.3 mark in this category, which greatly eclipsed two of the NFL's other well-known tight ends, the Kansas City Chiefs' Travis Kelce (59.7) and the Philadelphia Eagles' Zach Ertz (49.4).
But Kittle didn't get in based off his run-blocking efforts. No, it was his ability to amass such a huge number of receiving yards, made all the more impressive considering he had three different quarterbacks -- Jimmy Garoppolo, C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens -- throwing his way over the course of the season.
"The future is bright for Mr. Kittle," ESPN's Joe Tessitore added.
To make things even more amazing, just think Kittle fell to the 49ers in Round 5 of the 2017 NFL Draft. Safe to say San Francisco is getting a massive return on that relatively low investment, and there should be plenty of Pro Bowl accolades coming Kittle's way in future years.