49ers TE George Kittle on NFL debut vs. Julius Peppers: ‘I’m gonna die’

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle is currently in his eighth NFL season, having played in two Super Bowls and been named to the All-Pro team four times.

Yes, big George has seen some things out there on the football field and continues to excel for the 49ers. But every player, whether they manage to stick around the league or not, almost undoubtedly has their signature "welcome to the NFL" type of moment.

And that's exactly what "wideback" Deebo Samuel recently asked his colorful teammate about on his "Cleats and Convos" podcast.

In typical Kittle fashion, he did not hesitate for a second in recalling an understandably imposing moment against 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Julius Peppers.

"First game of my career, I had one-on-one pass-pro, Julius Peppers. Against the Carolina Panthers," Kittle explained. "I blocked him, but he didn't try very hard, I will say. He lined up across from me, and I was like 'you're kidding me.' And he had the all-black visor with the crazy face mask and I was like, 'I'm gonna die.' And then he thought it was a run play, it was a pass play. Blocked him. I was like 'yeah, that was one of the coolest moments of my life.'"

Kittle went on to describe that it felt like Peppers (6-foot-7) was six inches taller than him and just witnessing the size of quarterback Cam Newton in the end zone during pregame warmups had him wondering what he was even doing there.

One of the underrated aspects of Kittle's eye-opening rookie moment is that while it clearly served as his "welcome to the NFL" memory—just based on his super quick response to Samuel's question—he did win the play in successfully blocking Peppers.

Through five games this season, Kittle has 28 receptions for 283 yards and five touchdowns, with 16 of those catches impressively going for first downs.