Everyone is pretty excited to see if quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski can recreate some of their old New England Patriots magic with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On the other side of the country, though, there is a quarterback-tight end duo that is, perhaps, just getting started.
In his first full NFL season as a starter, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo hit his All-Pro tight end, George Kittle, 85 times for 1,053 yards and five trips into the end zone. And that was with Kittle missing two games due to knee and ankle injuries. Oh, and he played through a torn labrum, too.
Kittle recorded his second consecutive season of 1,000-or-more yards and is already considered to be among the best tight ends in football — if not the best tight end.
NFL Network's Good Morning Football on Thursday held a round table that had Kay Adams asking her co-hosts which duo they would take in 2020. Would it be Garoppolo and Kittle or Brady and Gronkowski?
Nate Burleson, Kyle Brandt, and Peter Schrager unanimously selected the West Coast duo.
"I'm not going to disrespect the fact that they've been cooking for a couple of seasons," Burleson said. "George Kittle was a beast last year, and literally had his arm strapped to his body so it wouldn't fall off. So imagine him 100 percent healthy, and now, these guys playing together with another season, catching a little bit more of a rhythm."
Brandt isn't so sure Gronkowski is in game-shape just yet.
"Kittle is already there," he adds. "Kittle's already younger. Kittle is the future. I believe in (head coach Kyle) Shanahan. And as explosive as Tom Brady is at this age, I'm still going to go with the Niners."
Schrager isn't so sure what the Buccaneers are getting yet in Gronkowski. He admits that everyone is excited to see what Brady and Gronkowski do in Tampa Bay.
"But I think Garoppolo and Kittle are in their prime, right now," Schrager adds. "They are clicking. They are ascending still."
Click here to watch the entire discussion from Good Morning Football.
H/t to Patrick Tulini for the find.