49ers' George Kittle calls this teammate 'a lethal killer'

San Francisco 49ers star tight end George Kittle shared interesting praise for quarterback Brock Purdy after the club's 5-0 start to the season. 

"I feel like I'm with a lethal killer in my huddle," Kittle said about Purdy during a Tuesday appearance on San Francisco sports radio station KNBR, per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "He's like a lethal killer...In the locker room and stuff, he's got this cheerfulness to him. I don't want to say, 'Young kid,' but he just got that to him. And then the second he gets on a football field, it's all business, and I just really appreciate that."

The final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, Purdy has thus far won all 12 of the meaningful pro games he's started and finished healthy (including the playoffs). According to ESPN stats, he ended Week 5 leading the league among qualified players with an 83.6 adjusted QBR and a 123.1 passer rating on the season. He's second with 9.3 yards per pass attempt and has nine touchdown passes with zero interceptions. 

Gabe Fernandez noted for SFGate how former quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky raised eyebrows when he said during Monday's edition of "Get Up" that New England Patriots signal-caller Mac Jones "would be playing like Brock Purdy is" if Jones was atop San Francisco's depth chart. Kittle clearly took offense to that. 

"That's disrespectful to Brock Purdy," Kittle said about Orlovsky's take. "I think Mac Jones is a fine quarterback. Currently, what Brock's doing, you look at his stats, just watch the tape...Just watch the tape and watch what he does every single game. It's phenomenal."

Purdy will look to guide the 49ers to a 6-0 record when they play at the 2-2 Cleveland Browns Sunday. As of Tuesday afternoon, OddsChecker listed the Niners as 5.5-point favorites for that contest amid concerns that Cleveland could be without starting quarterback Deshaun Watson due to a lingering shoulder issue.