San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle can be a handful for opposing defenses. The first-team All-Pro and two-time Pro Bowl selection has recorded back-to-back seasons of over 1,000 receiving yards and highlights of him carrying New Orleans Saints defenders downfield may just be a preview of things to come.
Kittle will likely sign a long-term deal sometime soon, meaning NFC West defenses will have to contend with him for the foreseeable future.
The Seattle Seahawks gave up a haul for former New York Jets safety Jamal Adams. Some would criticize that they gave up too much. But in a division with Kittle lining up across from you twice a year, maybe Seattle felt it had to do something to close the gap on the defending NFC champions.
Did it close the gap? Maybe. Although, the overwhelming belief is that San Francisco remains the best in the NFC West.
Kittle, along with other offensive weapons in the division, factored into Seahawks general manager John Schneider's decision to pull the trigger on sending two first-round picks, another selection, and a player to the Jets to acquire one of the league's best defenders.
"But you have to have so much speed on the back, especially when we're playing against Kyler Murray and George Kittle and Robert Woods and all these guys that seem like they are just running all over the place," Schneider told Peter King on the NBC Sports writer's podcast (h/t to Josh Schrock of NBC Sports). "You've got to have as much speed on the field. So adding a guy like Jamal who has that versatility to play down in the box and play in the hole and play man coverage is really important to us."
The Seahawks came close to winning the division last season, falling short at CenturyLink Field thanks to a goal-line tackle by 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw. San Francisco went on to take the NFC West crown and embarked on a playoff journey that ended with a Super Bowl appearance.
The two teams split their regular-season series with each squad winning once on the road.
Added Schneider: "If you look at the National Football League now, especially our division, with all the crossers and talented tight ends that we have, it's important Ugo [Amadi] and [Marquise] Blair and [Quandre] Diggs and now Jamal, it's a really good group. We also have Lano Hill, who two years ago was playing ... at a very, very high level three games in a row and then had a very serious hip injury. He's had a really nice offseason, so we're looking forward to seeing him as well."