George Kittle

He was reunited with Iowa teammate C. J. Beathard, whom the 49ers drafted in the third round (104th overall).

His father, Bruce Kittle, was a four-year letterman and co-captain of the 1982 Rose Bowl squad at Iowa and is a former college football coach.

His mother, Jan Krieger, is in the Iowa Girls’ High School Athletic Union hall of fame and went on to play softball and earn All-America honors in basketball at Drake University.

George Krieger Kittle (born October 9, 1993) is an American football tight end for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL).

Kittle played at Iowa from 2012 to 2016 under head coach Kirk Ferentz.

As a freshman, Kittle had a limited role behind senior C. J. Fiedorowicz, junior Ray Hamilton, and sophomore Jake Duzey.

He had his first collegiate reception, which went for 47 yards, against the Missouri State Bears.

Overall, he caught five passes for 108 yards.

Iowa's tight end unit remained crowded for Kittle in the 2014 season.

Along with the return of Hamilton and Duzey, junior Henry Krieger-Coble added to the depth.

Kittle had a lone reception for 25 yards against Maryland as his only catch of the season.

Kittle's role expanded in the 2015 season.

On September 26, 2015, against North Texas, he scored his first collegiate touchdown on a 43-yard reception from quarterback C. J. Beathard.

Overall, Kittle had 20 receptions for 290 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns in the 2015 season.

His six receiving touchdowns ranked sixth in the Big Ten Conference.

As a senior in the 2016 season, Kittle headlined a tight end unit that contained junior Peter Pekar and freshman Noah Fant.

He had his best statistical game against North Dakota State with five receptions for 110 receiving yards.

In his senior season, he had 22 receptions for 314 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns.

During his collegiate career, Kittle had 48 receptions for 737 yards and 10 touchdowns.

As a top tight end prospect, Kittle was one of 19 collegiate tight ends to receive an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana.

He completed the majority of drills, but opted to skip the short shuttle and three-cone drill.

Kittle's overall performance was well received, as he finished third among tight ends in the broad jump, fifth in the 40-yard dash, and finished sixth among his position group in the vertical jump.

He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes and was selected by the 49ers in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL draft.

On March 27, 2017, Kittle participated at Iowa's Pro Day, along with C. J. Beathard, Desmond King, Jaleel Johnson, Greg Mabin, Riley McCarron, and four other prospects.

He completed his combine drills, finishing the short shuttle (4.55s), three-cone drill, and also ran positional drills.

Scouts and team representatives from all 32 NFL teams attended, including Cincinnati Bengals tight end coach Jonathan Hayes.

At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Kittle was projected to be a third or fourth round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts.

He was ranked the fifth best tight end prospect in the draft by NFL analyst Mike Mayock, sixth best by NFL analyst Gil Brandt, and was ranked the eighth best tight end by NFLDraftScout.com.

The San Francisco 49ers selected Kittle in the fifth round with the 146th overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft.

On May 4, 2017, the 49ers signed Kittle to a four-year, $2.69 million contract that included a signing bonus of $298,287.

Throughout training camp, he competed against Garrett Celek, Vance McDonald, Logan Paulsen, Blake Bell, and Cole Hikutini for the job as the starting tight end.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan named Kittle the starting tight end to start the regular season.

Kittle made his NFL debut in the 49ers' season-opener against the Carolina Panthers and caught five passes for 27 yards in a 23–3 loss.

He caught his first NFL reception on a 13-yard pass from Brian Hoyer on the first drive and was tackled by Panthers' safety Mike Adams.

On October 8, 2017, Kittle made seven receptions for 83 yards and his first NFL touchdown during a 26–23 overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

During a Week 9 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals, Kittle caught three passes for 27 yards, before leaving the 20–10 loss with a leg injury.

He is a five-time Pro Bowler and was a first-team All-Pro in 2019 and 2023.

Kittle was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and moved to Iowa at a young age.

He attended Iowa City West High School in Iowa City, Iowa; Cedar Falls High School in Cedar Falls, Iowa; and Norman High School in Norman, Oklahoma.

He committed to the University of Iowa to play college football.