George Kittle has long been one of the league’s most effective tight ends, playing in 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offensive system.
But last week was the first time in a regular-season game that Kittle’s received just one target.
Kittle caught the pass for a 9-yard gain. But even though he was on the field for 96 percent of San Francisco’s offensive snaps, quarterback Brock Purdy threw to Kittle just that once.
There have been several instances in the regular season where Kittle’s finished with only one catch on two targets. And in San Francisco’s victory over Green Bay in the 2019 NFC Championship Game, Kittle had one catch on one target for a 19-yard gain.
But with Christian McCaffrey humming along as a potential MVP candidate in the 49ers 35-16 victory, Kittle’s role was largely restricted to blocking.
With the 49ers at 4-0, Kittle’s limited passing-game production is alright with him.
“Niners are winning the football games,” Kittle said Thursday, via David Bonilla of 49erswezbone.com. “I’m playing well in the run game, and as long as I’m playing to my standard, I can only control what I can control. If Kyle’s calling plays — we have six guys who, when they touch the ball, you don’t know what’s going to happen. They can score touchdowns, they can break tackles.”
Kittle has 14 receptions for 148 yards so far in 2023. Most of his numbers came against the Giants in Week 3, when Kittle caught seven passes for 90 yards. He had three receptions for 30 yards against the Rams in Week 2 and three catches for 19 yards versus the Steelers in Week 1.
“Sure, I love getting the football,” Kittle said. “I love running in space. It’s fun. If those aren’t the play calls being called, it is what it is, and I’m just going to do everything I can to either get those guys open or block my ass off. And I’ve been doing that pretty well so far.
“When the ball is thrown your way, you’ve just got to make the most of those opportunities because there’s a lot of mouths to feed on this offense.”
McCaffrey has been the offense’s obvious focal point, as he has 98 touches for 600 yards with seven touchdowns.
Deebo Samuel is second on the team with 28 touches — 17 receptions and 11 carries.
Kittle’s involvement in the passing game seems likely to continue to fluctuate throughout the season. But as long as the 49ers are winning, it’s hard to imagine Kittle becoming unsatisfied.
