​The San Francisco 49ers received “additional votes” for cornerback Deommodore Lenoir and defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, yet neither cracked ESPN’s top-10 in the team’s positional rankings. On Friday, however, the spotlight shifted to tight ends, making it a matter of how high George Kittle would be ranked rather than whether he would land in the top tier. For the second consecutive year, Brock Bowers held the No. 1 spot. A new No. 2 emerged this season—the position Kittle held last year—which now belongs to Trey McBride of the Cardinals. Kittle, who still earned a No. 1 designation in some rankings, ended up at No. 3. There were coaches or executives who ranked Kittle as low as No. 8, a placement that should cast doubt on the reliability of the list.
Here’s what ESPN wrote about Kittle: injuries, not age, are the limiting factor for him. Even at 32, he remained a dominant force, averaging 57.1 receiving yards per game (second among tight ends), with seven touchdowns and 2.39 yards per route run. The 49ers posted a 138.4 passer rating when targeting Kittle, and his catch rate stood at an impressive 82.6%. “Injuries and durability are becoming a concern, but when he’s healthy, he’s still the most versatile, dominant, complete tight end,” one NFC executive said. “He’s still the gold standard for blocking, running, and catching.”
Kittle is working his way back from a late-season Achilles tear and hopes to be ready for Week 1. He is one of just three players who have recorded six or more receiving touchdowns in each of the past five seasons, joining Ja’Marr Chase and Davante Adams. According to Sports Info Solutions, Kittle was the sixth-most valuable tight end last season despite missing a month of games. Seven touchdowns in 11 games is an impressive feat. This season, Kittle should be even better with Mike Evans on the 49ers’ offense. Opposing teams will have to respect San Francisco’s outside receiving threats, something that didn’t happen enough last season, and which was evident in how defenses played the Niners. Opponents dared Brock Purdy to target the perimeter, aware that there weren’t many weapons out there beyond Kittle and Christian McCaffrey. Kittle figures to be among the biggest beneficiaries of Evans’ arrival, much like Ricky Pearsall.
The rest of ESPN’s tight end rankings followed, with Sam LaPorta at No. 4, Tyler Warren at No. 5, Tucker Kraft at No. 6, Colston Loveland at No. 7, Kyle Pitts at No. 8, Mark Andrews at No. 9, and Travis Kelce at No. 10. Personally, I’d place Loveland and Kraft after Kittle, giving them a more accurate sequencing that also benefits search engine visibility.