San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel spoke this week of the "YAC Bros." That includes himself, rookie Brandon Aiyuk, Kendrick Bourne, and tight end George Kittle. Although, Kittle jokingly told reporters on Thursday that he has yet to receive a former invitation to the exclusive club.
"Am I a part of the YAC Bros? I didn't get a formal invitation or a t-shirt of anything," Kittle said in jest. "I don't even have the Deebo shirt, so I'm a little salty about that. It's alright, though. I'll see if I can make the club after this week."
There is no doubt that when it comes to YAC on the 49ers roster, Kittle is king. He probably didn't get an invitation because the founding member doesn't need one.
"George is unbelievable in his YAC," head coach Kyle Shanahan told NBC Sports Bay Area this week. "Two years ago, when he had more yards than anyone in NFL history as a tight end, it had to do with his YAC. What he turned plays into was pretty unprecedented to what people had seen before."
Shanahan refers to the 2018 season when Kittle set an NFL record for the most single-season receiving yards by a tight end with 1,377 yards on 88 receptions. Eight-hundred and seventy-three of those yards, by the way, were yards after the catch, which led the league that season.
"George, I think he ran a 4.5 coming out of college, which is extremely fast," Shanahan continued. "But you get into game day and stuff, you get into some of those two-minute drills and everything, he's moving at a different speed than everyone. His conditioning is unbelievable, and he is fearless. He is always trying to score.
"His mindset, when he runs, with his talent, is different than most people. That's why his result's different."