Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle joined KNBR on Wednesday and discussed several of the players who make up the San Francisco 49ers' most recent draft class. The team made defensive end Nick Bosa out of Ohio State the No. 2 overall pick. With the selection came a bit of controversy due to some questionable past social media activity by the rookie.
Cornerback Richard Sherman and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo have already commented on the controversy with both indicating that Bosa will be judged by his play on the field and fit in the locker room. Kittle will also reserve judgment until he gets to know the rookie pass rusher.
"I ran into Nick during rookie minicamp," Kittle said on the "Murph and Mac" show. "I was in for a day, and I just said hi to him. Looking forward to getting to know him even better. He seems like a good dude."
Does Kittle take issue with any of Bosa's perceived views?
"I don't judge a book by its cover," Kittle added. "I'm just going to get to know Nick, and that's all I care about."
Kittle also discussed three rookies on offense — wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Jalen Hurd, and tight end Kaden Smith. Kittle says he has seen enough from Samuel, the 49ers' second-round pick, to know he is a talented football player.
As for the team's third-round selection who started his collegiate career as a running back at Tennessee before transferring to Baylor and playing receiver...
"I played Jalen Hurd when I was at Iowa, and I think he ran for like four touchdowns on us when he was a running back for Tennessee, so I know he's pretty good," Kittle said.
Kittle reached out to fellow tight end Smith as soon as he was drafted in the sixth round and welcomed him to the team.
"It's kind of fun to see a guy like that who can compete," Kittle said. "He makes contested catches left and right. You can see that in his college film. Just looking forward to having him on the squad."
Then you have the report of friction between general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan. What does Kittle think about all the rumors? His response was short and to the point.
"That's pretty funny," Kittle said.
You can listen to the entire discussion with Kittle below.