49ers TE George Kittle the 3rd-Best Tight End Draft Pick of Millenium

In hindsight, the 49ers were pretty smart to take George Kittle in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Like the rest of the NFL, the 49ers didn't understand just how great Kittle would be. That's why they drafted C.J. Beathard, Joe Williams and Trent Taylor ahead of Kittle. Now, Kittle is the 49ers' third-leading receiver ever behind Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens. Which means Kittle is one of the greatest draft picks in franchise history.

In fact, since 2000, Kittle is the third-best draft value at tight end after Travis Kelce and Rob Gronkowski, according to NFL.com.

"The 2017 draft class featured some respectable receiving talent at tight end, including the likes of Evan Engram, David Njoku and Jonnu Smith," writes NFL.com's Eric Edholm. "But by far the best in the group has been Kittle, who has more catches, yards and touchdowns than all of them -- and he’s considered a more than capable blocker, too.

"The energetic Kittle caught only 48 passes in 40 college games at run-heavy Iowa, but he nearly matched that total (43) as a rookie with the 49ers. In seven seasons since then, he’s averaged more than 70 catches per season, topping the 1,000-yard mark four times and earning six Pro Bowl nods.

"Injuries have slowed Kittle at times, and his postseason production isn’t quite as strong, but his credentials are above reproach, and he remains close to his peak entering his age-32 season, which was reflected in the top-of-the-market contract extension the 49ers signed Kittle to this spring."

It's hard to fathom that the 49ers haven't given Kittle triple-digit targets in a season since 2019. That's criminal. In addition, he has just 51 targets and 33 catches in 12 postseason games, as opposed to Kelce and Gronkowski, two of the most prolific playoff receivers ever.

Fortunately for Kittle, he still appears to be in his prime and he just got a three-year extension. His story isn't over yet.