San Francisco 49ers second year tight end George Kittle is having one of heck of a season. Going into Sunday's Week 9 games, Kittle leads all tight ends with 692 yards. That puts him on pace to set the franchise record for receiving yards by a tight end and become the first in team history to surpass 1,000 yards in a season. The potential historic significance of his season doesn't end with team records.
Kittle is averaging 76.89 yards per game, putting him on pace for 1,230 this season. That would give him the sixth most receiving yards by a tight end in NFL history. The record is within reach if he can do just a bit more. The New England Patriots Rob Gronkowski set the record in 2011 with 1,327 yards. Side note: the second season seems to randomly be the key to big tight end seasons as the top three seasons for receiving yards by a tight end have all happened during the players' second seasons.
In order for Kittle to join them and take the top spot, he must average 91 yards per game through the final seven games. He's averaged slightly fewer than 88 yards in the past three games. First up is the New York Giants. They have allowed just 53.62 yards per game to tight ends this season. If Kittle can have a big game on Monday Night Football next week against the Giants he will be well on his way to a truly historic season.
Here are a few other interesting tidbits to watch for the rest of the season:
Among receivers with at least 40 receptions, Kittle leads the league in yards per target. The last tight end to lead the league in yards per target was the illustrious Shannon Sharpe back in 1997 with 9.71 yards per target. Kittle is at 11.34 yards per target this season.
Kittle is averaging 16.88 yards on his 41 receptions this season. That's the highest yards per reception for a tight end with at least 40 receptions in a season since 1981.
Finally, Kittle currently has the longest reception, regardless of position, in the NFL this season thanks to his 82 yard touchdown in Week 4. Kittle would be the first tight end to have the league's longest reception for a season since Emery Moorehead did it in 1986 for the Chicago Bears.