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High praise: Rob Gronkowski says 49ers TE George Kittle reminds him of himself
Oct 11, 2019 at 9:39 AM
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San Francisco 49ers tight end
George Kittle has already been
dubbed "The People's Tight End" by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, the wrestling superstar turned actor. Kittle, a wrestling fan himself, was in awe of the compliment.
What could beat that, right?
Well, as far as NFL tight ends go, they don't get much better than former New England Patriot, Rob Gronkowski, now with Fox Sports as an analyst. Kittle loves to watch NFL tight ends and roots for them all — as long as they aren't this week's opponent, that is — and Gronkowski is one of his all-time favorites.
The former Patriots tight end praised Kittle before Thursday night's game between his former team and the New York Giants. Our friend, Dylan DeSimone of Fourth and Nine, caught the video.
"George Kittle, he reminds me of myself a little bit," Gronkowski said. "He had that breakout year last year, which I'm pretty sure was his second year in the league too, just like I did, had a breakout year in my second year in the league.
"And I met him this year. And when I met him, he had that energy. He brought that energy to the table. You can see he loves lifting weights. He loves being strong. And whenever he gets the ball, he just wants to go all the way to the end zone. That's what I love about him.
"He's a special talent, and he's a big asset for the San Francisco 49ers."
Last year, Kittle broke the NFL's all-time single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end with his 1,377 yards. The record had previously been held by Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce for about ... well ... 45 minutes, maybe? Before that, Gronkowski was the record holder since 2011.
Kittle is in his third NFL season and has recorded 23 receptions for 235 yards with a touchdown through four games this year.
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