George

Kittle

Kittle’s highlight came on a 33-yard grab down the sideline over tight coverage. His five targets were second on the team in a low-volume day for the Niners passing offense. Kittle now has 25 receptions over his past four games with the team ramping up his pass game involvement. Kittle will be on bye in Week 14 before facing the Titans in Week 15. He has a favorable schedule down the stretch of the regular season.

Kittle was the primary beneficiary of the play action exploits of Kyle Shanahan’s offense in this one, with Christian McCaffrey setting the tone and keeping the Carolina defense on heir heels. He was held out of the end zone for only the second time in his last five games, but remains one of the highest-upside tight ends in the league in an offense now back to full heath. That doesn’t change ahead of a Week 13 matchup against the Browns, regardless of the effects on his floor.

Kittle operated in his usual nearly every-snap role in the offense with Brock Purdy back in the fold, tying the team lead with six targets. Purdy dropped a pass right into his hands for a 30-yard score in the first half; Kittle followed that up with a four-yard receiving score in the third quarter. Without a definitive No. 1 wide receiver, Kittle and Christian McCaffrey are the primary two pass-catchers in the 49ers offense. He is a fantasy TE1 for Week 12 against the Panthers.

Kittle does everything in highlights so we’re not surprised to see that he reeled in a touchdown by narrowly staying in bounds on a sideline ball, then diving for the pylon. The better news for Kittle managers is that this is his highest target total of the season — actually his highest since Week 15 of the 2024 season — and that he and Jauan Jennings appear to have frozen out the rest of the San Francisco receivers. Luke Farrell did vulture a score this week, but Kittle looks to be in a good fantasy TE1 place heading into Week 11’s game against the Cardinals.

Kittle posted a nearly identical stat line as last week, this time without a touchdown to save his fantasy managers. He now has four catches in back-to-back games. On the other hand, Kittle has yardage totals of 0, 43, and 32 since returning from injured reserve. The floor appears to be intact, but we haven’t seen a ceiling game from the superstar tight end this year. While it’s been a frustrating year for fantasy drafters who selected Kittle, he remains in the top half of the TE1 mix for his Week 10 date with the Rams.

Kittle appeared on Wednesday’s injury report with the new oblique issue, but he practiced in full all week and can be expected to perform as an elite TE1 against the Giants on Sunday. After a one-game clunker in his return in Week 7, Kittle caught 4-of-5 targets for 43 yards and a touchdown in Week 8.

Kittle caught 4-of-5 targets for 43 yards and a touchdown last week, evidently picking up an oblique injury along the way. His continued practice participation puts him firmly on track to face the Giants in Week 9. Kittle can be safely lodged in fantasy lineups for the occasion, once again sitting in the elite TE1 ranks.

Kittle’s touchdown catch was an incredible back-shoulder snag between three Texans to cut the 49ers deficit to 16-7 late in the first half. Other than that, he was mostly kept in check in a game where the Texans never trailed — Mac Jones’ second touchdown went to a different tight end (Jake Tonges), a true gotcha for the National Tight End Day creator. Kittle remains an easy TE1 play against the Giants in Week 9.

Kittle left fantasy managers with a nice goose egg in his return from injured reserve but made his presence felt while helping to spring running back Christian McCaffrey for a season-high 129 yards on the ground. This was the first game all season in which the 49ers played with both Kittle and fullback Kyle Juszczyk for the duration of the game, and the returns were sparkling - at least as the team was concerned. Kittle remains unlikely to command elite volume but maintains a lofty weekly ceiling considering his per-catch upside, making him a wide range of outcomes play ahead of a meeting with the stout Texans in Week 8.

Mac Jones does get a small reinforcement in Week 7 with Kittle over the middle. This move effectively ends Jake Tonges’ fantasy value and pushes Kendrick Bourne into a more of a supporting role. Kittle should be fired up as a high-end TE1 in all fantasy leagues immediately.