Seattle Seahawks tight end George Kittle. That probably doesn't sound very good to San Francisco 49ers fans, but it could have happened. The All-Pro recently spoke with Matt Verderame on the Stacking The Box podcast (h/t to Tzvi Machlin of The Spun) and shared a story from the 2017 NFL Draft when a team tried to move up to grab him.
Kittle's agent told him that he felt the former Iowa tight end might be selected as high as the second round, if lucky. However, most likely, they were looking at somewhere between the third and the sixth rounds.
The 49ers ended up selecting Kittle in the fifth round, No. 146 overall, but the tight end thought he might be headed to the division rival.
"... It was probably a minute before the Niners called me, my agent said, 'Hey, the Seahawks are calling. They said they're trading up to get you,'" Kittle shared. "And then, literally, I'm on the phone with him, my agent, and — he's on my dad's phone — and then I got a call from the Bay Area, and I was like, 'I'm getting a call from the Bay.' He was like, 'Hang up on me and answer that.' I was like, 'Alright, sick.'
"The next thing I know, I'm talking to John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan, saying that they're drafting me, and they're excited to work with me. I was like, 'I'm excited to be there. Let's roll.'"
Kittle has since been selected to two Pro Bowls as was named a first-team All-Pro in 2019. He is always in the conversation for the best tight end in football, and 49ers fans are probably happy things turned out the way they did.
You can listen to the entire interview with Kittle below.