The San Francisco 49ers finally have some star power on the national level.
For a while, particularly after finishing 2017 on such a strong note, the Niners’ top biller was quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who became an overnight sensation after leading head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad to five straight victories to close out that season. But after suffering a torn ACL early in 2018, it appeared as if San Francisco was heading back to irrelevancy in league-wide circles.
That was, of course, until tight end George Kittle came around.
Kittle broke New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski’s single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end in 2018, posting 1,377 total in what was otherwise a disappointing season for the Niners.