Every team has dealt with the "one who got away." The 49ers will make sure that doesn't happen with star tight end George Kittle, who is set for a huge payday in the near future.
Hall of Fame executive Gil Brandt listed his 12 players whose teams should never let them get away, and Kittle came in just behind Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes. Brandt believes Kittle is the perfect tight end, just as Rob Gronkowski was to the New England Patriots in his prime.
"He's a true dual-threat tight end in the mold of Rob Gronkowski," Brandt recently wrote. "And Kittle is as important to San Francisco's success as Gronk was to New England's over the past decade."
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Gronkowski, who came out of retirement and was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason, won three Super Bowl titles with the Patriots. He is a five-time Pro Bowl tight end and four-time All-Pro.
Through his first three seasons in the NFL, Kittle twice has made the Pro Bowl and was named an All-Pro for the first time this past season. Kittle, 26, dethroned Gronkowski as Pro Football Focus' best season by a tight end with a 95.0 overall grade. Gronk previously held the honor with a 92.0 grade in the 2011 season.
Kittle and Gronkowski both have been dominant as pass-catchers and run-blockers. They're also big fans of each other, too.
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Prior to Super Bowl LIV, Gronkowski said Kittle reminded him of himself as he praised the 49ers' star before the big game. And when Gronkowski decided to return to football and join Tampa Brady in Tampa Bay this season, Kittle couldn't have been more excited.
Kittle and Gronk are generational talents who have helped changed their position forever. Now, the 49ers have to make sure Kittle never was a jersey for another team like Gronkowski is about to.
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