Why George Kittle isn't expecting an offensive drop-off for 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers experienced significant roster changes this offseason, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. While the loss of veteran contributors raised some concerns, star tight end George Kittle believes the offense remains in strong shape heading into the 2025 NFL season.

Kittle doesn't anticipate any significant decline in offensive production, though he acknowledges the unit must carry its weight to keep the team competitive.

"I just know that our offense needs to score a lot of football points, and I'm aware of that," Kittle said on Thursday. "We haven't lost that many key pieces. Yes, Deebo's (WR Deebo Samuel) a key piece, but I feel like we are good enough throughout the rest of our offense to score points. And we are vets enough. We've been executing this offense for years now. We should be able to go out there and be efficient and score a lot of football points."

One of the biggest positives for Kittle this offseason was the opportunity to strengthen his chemistry with quarterback Brock Purdy. Both players now live in the Nashville area during the offseason, allowing for consistent workouts.

That extra work paid dividends, as the Kittle-Purdy connection was on display throughout training camp practices.

"I was really excited to be able to throw routes with Brock the entire offseason," Kittle said. "That was really fun for me, just being on the same page, and I think that transitioned really well into training camp. Between us two, I don't think we really had a bad day of training camp, and we were challenging each other; the defense was challenging us.

"So, I'm excited about that, and I think it'll go straight into the game. Hopefully, we just start fast and get the ball rolling, and it'll be really fun for us."

The 49ers hope that chemistry shows up on Sunday when they open their 2025 season against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field.