George Kittle Is Set to Make Some 49ers History in 2024

In seven seasons with the San Francisco 49ers , superstar tight end George Kittle has become one of the best pass-catchers in franchise history. Of course, it’s essentially impossible for anyone to ever take the No. 1 slot away from Jerry Rice, who’s widely considered the best wide receiver of all time, but Kittle has done just fine for himself.

Since being taken by the Niners in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft , the Iowa alum has amassed 460 receptions for 6,274 yards and has recorded 37 receiving touchdowns. Not bad for a guy taken 146th overall.

Heading into the Niners’ 2024 season-opening matchup on Monday Night Football against the New York Jets , the five-time Pro Bowler ranks 10th in receiving TDs with his 37 and would need a career-high 12 to break into the top five, as Billy Wilson and Alyn Beals are tied in that No. 5 slot with 49 apiece. His career-best currently stands at 11, which he achieved during the 2022 season.

However, Kittle already ranks in the top five in franchise history in receptions and receiving yards. And if he stays healthy during the 2024 campaign, he should easily break into the top three in both categories.

George Kittle Set to Enter the Top 3 in 49ers History in Receptions and Receiving Yards

Kittle needs 49 catches and 477 yards to climb into the top three in Niners history in each respective category

With 460 career receptions, Kittle enters the ’24 season ranked fifth in 49ers history in that department, trailing only four franchise legends.

As you can see, the two-time First-Team All-Pro needs 47 receptions to surpass “The Catch” hero Dwight Clark and 49 to surpass four-time Pro Bowl running back Roger Craig, who was a fantastic receiver out of the backfield, to climb into the No. 3 slot.

There have only been two seasons in which Kittle didn’t reach 49 catches. The first was his rookie year in 2017, when he caught a respectable 43 passes. He only recorded 48 in 2020, but that was because he missed half the season due to knee and foot injuries. So hitting 49 this season shouldn’t be a problem.

As for receiving yards, Kittle also ranks fifth in 49ers history in that category, trailing Rice, Owens, Clark, and two-time First-Team All-Pro Gene Washington, who played nine years in San Francisco from 1969 to 1977.

• Jerry Rice: 19,247
• Terrell Owens: 8,572
• Dwight Clark: 6,750
• Gene Washington: 6,664
• George Kittle: 6,274

Here, you can see that Kittle needs 391 yards to pass Washington and 477 to pass Clark to move into the third slot behind Rice and Owens.

Again, barring injury, this shouldn’t be an issue, as Kittle has never had a season in which he had fewer than 515 yards, which is the number he hit in his rookie campaign. Even in the aforementioned 2020 season, he reached 634 yards.

It’ll take a few more seasons for him to threaten Owens in these two categories, but if he stays healthy and remains in San Francisco once his contract expires, he’ll get there. But after that, Kittle will have to settle for the second spot because he’s never catching Rice. But there’s certainly no shame in that.

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise.