George Kittle Reveals Two 49ers Rivals Were Interested in Drafting Him

Kittle revealed that both the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks were interested in drafting him, with Dallas showing pre-draft interest before going quiet, while Seattle came close to selecting him.

Speaking in a revealing interview with Alex Sherman of CNBC, Kittle detailed how his draft day turned out back in 2017.

"I talked most to the Dallas Cowboys," shared Kittle.

"They talked to me a ton throughout the whole process. Before the Combine, during it and after the Combine, workouts, and then I didn't hear anything on Draft day.

"I grew up a Chicago Bears fan, but I was thinking just get my foot through the door in any building, and I'd show what I was made of.

“I had 1 phone call at the end of the 4th round. My agent called me and said the Seahawks were looking to draft me with the 3rd pick and then literally my agent was on the phone with Seattle when the Niners called me to draft me with the 2nd pick of the 5th round.

"I thought I was gonna go to Seattle and then I ended up going to the San Francisco 49ers.”

The nature of the draft is that it's always a gamble, but it's hard to imagine the 49ers without Kittle in the Shanahan-Lynch era.

He's one of the roster's core leaders, helping set the standard while perfectly embodying the culture built by the front office. He even convinced Mike Evans to join the franchise in free agency.

As the longest-tenured player of this era, Kittle is on track to go down as a franchise Hall of Famer - and if his wish to finish his career in San Francisco is fulfilled, his legacy will only grow younger.

San Francisco dodged a nightmare scenario in potentially allowing a late-round gem to a rival team.