San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle set a new NFL single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end after catching 88 passes for 1,377 yards with five touchdowns last year. Eight hundred seventy-three of those yards came after the catch. The next closest tight end, Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs, had over 200 fewer yards after the catch.
That's an impressive sophomore NFL season for the 25-year-old tight end. So when you hear someone say he can be even better, it catches your attention, especially when such comments come from his position coach.
Jon Embree had a long list of things his Pro Bowl tight end still needs to work on to reach his potential.
"His footwork, getting in and out of breaks, certain routes that he really, in my mind, struggles getting in and out of his break to be clean with it," Embree recently told NBC Sports Bay Area. "His weight, he has a tendency to lean back a little bit, so just working on those things in certain routes to help him try to continue to take the next step.
"He left a lot on the field between drops and he and Jimmy [Garoppolo] not connecting. So yeah, he can do a lot more. He could do a lot more and not have the same numbers too."
Kittle had six drops last season. Considering he averaged 15.6 yards per reception, that's a potential loss of over 93 more receiving yards.
"I think that's the thing that makes George unique is that he doesn't focus on numbers and records and all that, and that's when it happens for you," Embree continued. "You just go out and play, and you just got to do well and focus on the next play. So, I think with George he could have a better year than he had last year and I'm ok with that."
When you think of one of your favorite Kittle plays from last season, it probably involves a great run after the catch. Maybe it even includes the tight end bulldozing a defender on his way to more yards.
That's not the case for Embree. He remembers two running plays against the Green Bay Packers and that just goes to show how dedicated Kittle is in every aspect of his game.
"He does a great job in the run game, and we lean on him a lot," Embree said. "That's why I'm proud of him the most. I know he can get a lot better, and when he gets that cleaned up, he can be a dominant player."
Kittle takes a lot of pride in his blocking. It's something that originates from his time at Iowa when he wasn't asked to make a lot of big downfield plays.
"I personally think if you can move a guy from point A to point B against his will, that's a better feeling than scoring a touchdown, in my opinion," Kittle said in January. "If you can put a guy on his back and he doesn't want to be on his back, it's a great feeling. There is not much that can beat that."
A reporter recently asked Kittle about his self-expectations heading into the 2019 season and if anything less than another 1,300-yard year would be a disappointment.
"If we're winning games, I could have no catches, and as long as I do well in the run game, I'll be happy," Kittle responded. "I'm not really a guy that sets personal goals so I'm just going to wait until Coach Shanahan tells me what plays that I'm going to catch and run for 80 yards, and I'll take advantage of those plays."
