San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle is in Atlanta, Georgia this week to take in the pre-Super-Bowl festivities. He was at Radio Row on Thursday morning promoting his partnership with Skittles and joined KNBR to discuss the Pro Bowl, his quarterbacks, and more.
"You can't spell Skittles without Kittle," The Pro Bowl tight end said on the "Murph and Mac" show regarding his sponsorship deal.
Kittle shared what it was like participating in his first Pro Bowl and meeting Brian Urlacher, a childhood hero of his, for the first time. The Hall of Fame linebacker, who had a 13-year career with the Chicago Bears, even signed an Urlacher jersey that Kittle had since he was a kid.
Nick Mullens was a big part of getting Kittle to the Pro Bowl. The 49ers' second-year quarterback helped Kittle set a new NFL single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end.
"He was completely prepared for every single game," Kittle said. "We didn't have to worry about him at all. He wasn't the weak link in the chain. He was a big part of it, and he did absolutely everything we wanted him to do and more. That's just a testament to him because he's so prepared."
Despite Mullens' impressive play down the stretch, Kittle is looking forward to getting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo back this offseason.
"I don't know if he's doing OTAs yet, but I'm just looking forward to being able to catch the ball from him because, I don't know if you guys know this, he throws a really pretty pass," Kittle said. "It's one of those balls that you pluck it out of the air. You don't have to go up. It's just natural to catch."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Kittle below.
The plan is still to have Garoppolo throwing passes and doing non-contact work when the 49ers get together for organized team activities in late-May, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch.
"It's always a little bit better when you're dealing with a quarterback and stuff as opposed to other positions just because you can get him in, hopefully, in 7-on-7 drills a little bit early and things like that, which help those guys get involved a lot faster," Shanahan told reporters in October.
"We're hopeful he's going to get to take part in our OTAs," Lynch told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network last week. "That's the plan, and he hasn't had any setbacks, so he's doing really well."