Is 49ers Tight End George Kittle Primed for Another Massive Season?

George Kittle is coming off arguably the best season of his career.

At 31, he caught 78 passes for 1,106 yards and 8 touchdowns. He was by far the 49ers' best offensive weapon, considering Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk missed so much time and Deebo Samuel was a shell of himself.

Now, Kittle will turn 32 in October. Does he have another massive season left in him? Yahoo! Sports believes he does.

"Overall, this looks like a good year to actually consider some of the top-three tight ends considering the steep drop that occurs at the position well before we get to TE10," writes Yahoo! Sports fantasy analyst Matt Harmon. "Since Kittle goes much later than the other two, he’s someone that looks like a proactive target and the cleanest way to get exposure to a 49ers passing game that we know will be good. San Francisco ranked ninth in dropback EPA last season — a year in which almost everything went wrong for them. I’ll bet on them finishing higher in 2025."

Kittle should be a good bet to receive at least 90 targets if he stays healthy. The 49ers signed backup tight end Luke Farrell specifically to block so that Kittle won't have to as much and can run more routes and catch more passes.

Unfortunately for Kittle, he's getting older and usually has an injury that he plays through. That's why Jauan Jennings had more targets than Kittle last season -- Kyle Shanahan tries to preserve him. Which means this year, even wide receiver Ricky Pearsall could have more targets than Kittle, provided Pearsall stays healthy.

I would expect Kittle's numbers to begin to decline this year, even if his impact on the game does not.