SAN FRANCISCO — The 49ers brought in assistance for George Kittle and the offense when they signed free agent Luke Farrell.
Kittle is looking forward to seeing how his new tight end counterpart will fit into Kyle Shanahan’s system. The All-Pro tight end shared his thoughts in an exclusive interview with NBC Sports Bay Area during an event at the de Young Museum sponsored by Zenni.
“Just being around him for the last week and a half, he’s just a large human being,” Kittle said. "He’s a big dude, strong guy, moves well. Excited to see what he does in the run game in person. That’s one of the reasons we brought him here, because he’s a big blocking guy, but he’s still very quick on his feet, runs good routes, catches the ball well. So that’s a good thing.”
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SIGN UP HERE The 49ers were without many of their weapons on offense in 2024 due to injury, including Christian McCaffrey, Jordan Mason, Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams. With their full complement on the field, including Farrell, the group should offer more protection for Brock Purdy.
“I think I’ve been part of some very efficient offenses,” Kittle said. “I think 2019 was one of our most efficient ones and we were in 12 and 21 personnel a lot. We’d just bounce back or 22 personnel. I think having a tight end that you can really rely on with him so you can run either direction.”
Per ProFootballFocus.com, opposing defenses recorded 200 pressures on Purdy in 2024, which was significantly lower than the 245 generated in the team's 2023 Super Bowl campaign. Kittle is correct in noting that protection was better in 2019 when now-Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was only pressured 175 times.
San Francisco previously has had several blocking tight ends on the roster, including Charlie Woerner, who signed with the Atlanta Falcons in 2024, and Levine Toilolo, who was with the team in 2019.
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“We kind of needed to find that balance again,” Kittle said. “I think Luke can really bring back what Levine Toilolo was doing, what Charlie was doing and be able to pass pro, get out on some routes and help the offense be more balanced. Hopefully, that is what happens.”
Farrell was the 49ers' biggest free-agent acquisition, signing a three-year, $15.75 million deal to assist the offensive line through the 2027 season.