George Kittle joined back-to-back podcasts on Tuesday and raved about how quietly talented one member of the 49ers' secondary is.
While making an appearance on KNBR’s “Papa & Lund” podcast, The People’s Tight End praised his teammate and San Francisco safety Jimmie Ward while making a strong case for his underrated narrative.
“I just said that in an interview 20 minutes ago, I really did! I said Jimmie Ward might be one of the most underrated players in the NFL,” Kittle said enthusiastically.
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But what exactly makes the former first-round pick so underrated? Kittle had a number of reasons.
“He’s a guy you don’t want to line up [against] when it’s man coverage, you don’t want Jimmie Ward on you because he’s quick, he’s physical and he’s really, really fast,” Kittle said. “[He’s] got great hands, and he knows how to hold without getting holding calls. He’s very good at that.”
Well, Kittle of all people should know. He goes up against the veteran safety plenty during practice.
And the three-time Pro Bowler is grateful to face a competitor like Ward and, although on the other side, can appreciate what he does for the team.
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“I’m very blessed to be able to go against someone like him every single day because he plays very, very well in every type of man coverage,” Kittle said. “He’s great in the zone, he’s really good at reading stuff, very good at faking, like making the quarterback think he’s not where he’s going to be. He’s a hell of a competitor and he always talks, too, you always hear him chirping the whole time.
“He does fake calls, he’ll just start saying things. You should see when we’re doing walk-throughs and he’s not even in, he’ll just call out some of our offensive plays. Sometimes he’s dead wrong, but that guy’s always talking, he’s always communicating. So as long as you have 11 guys doing the same thing, whether it’s right or wrong, it’s usually going to work pretty well.”
Kittle said Ward usually goes up against wide receivers like Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings during his one-on-one plays -- all guys who can move and get open.
The 49ers' defense is often talked about and applauded. Deservingly so. But it's players like Nick Bosa or Fred Warner who typically are on the receiving end of that praise, not Ward.
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Leave it to Kittle, though, to give a shoutout where it's due.
And as he enters his ninth NFL season with San Francisco, Ward surely will prove to more than just Kittle what he's capable of.