The NFL continued its release of the Top 100 players on Friday, which is a list voted on by the players themselves, and another San Francisco 49ers star saw their name called: tight end George Kittle.
Kittle came in at No. 31 on the list, coming in ahead of Houston’s Nico Collins (No. 32), Green Bay’s Josh Jacobs (No. 33), Arizona’s Budda Baker (No. 34), Dallas’s CeeDee Lamb (No. 35), and Dallas’s Micah Parsons (No. 36), among others.
The 49ers star had a stellar 2024 campaign, catching 78 passes for
1,106 yards and eight touchdowns. Those were Kittle’s best numbers since his All-Pro 2019 year, and it came in the tight end’s age-31 season.
Despite the productivity, Kittle fell 17 spots from No. 14 to No. 31 on the NFL Top 100, which came perhaps due to the 49ers’ down season.
“Players voting on the Top 100 will never amount to exact science,” NFL.com’s Bobby Kownack wrote. “Case in point? Last season, Kittle posted his most receptions, best PFF offensive grade (92.3) and best PFF receiving grade (92.4) since 2019. He collected his most receiving yards since 2018 and the second-most touchdown catches of his career. As a result, the six-time Pro Bowler promptly dropped 17 spots. Perhaps that’s due to San Francisco’s down year, but Kittle most certainly did not join the 49ers in the doldrums.”
Of course, given that it is a player vote, the results aren’t usually very accurate. But, Kittle was a Pro Bowler, a second-team All-Pro, and came 11th in Offensive Player of the Year voting.
In his ranking video, Kittle got a cameo from quarterback Brock Purdy, who noted the tight end’s physical playing style combined with his lighthearted personality on the sidelines.
“Energetic and explosive,” Purdy said. “You get the ball in his hands, man, he can run past guys, break tackles. And he’s funny. On the sideline, he’s asking me for some Toyotas and talking about commercials and stuff, like, mid-game. And I’m like, ‘Bro, lock in.'”
Kittle is the fourth 49ers player to crack the NFL Top 100, joining left tackle Trent Williams, defensive end Nick Bosa, and running back Christian McCaffrey.
Williams came in at No. 45, falling 38 spots after being considered a top-10 player ahead of the 2024 season. The star left tackle played in only 10 games last season, but still allowed an average time to pressure of 3.78 seconds last season, longest among left tackles with at least 25 pressures allowed, according to Next Gen Stats.
Bosa fell 30 spots to No. 57, despite making his fourth straight Pro Bowl and averaging a get-off time of 0.70 seconds last season, the quickest in his career and the second-quickest among edge defenders with at least 200 pass rushes, according to Next Gen Stats.
Meanwhile, McCaffrey had the biggest fall of the bunch, going from No. 3 to No. 73 after an injury-ravaged 2024 season where he played in just four games.
The 49ers will likely have Fred Warner ranked among the Top 30 players after another All-Pro season. The NFL will continue to roll out 10 spots per week until its final reveal of the Top 10 on September 1st.
But, so far, Kittle has joined a group of 49ers falling from their 2024 rankings, coming in at No. 31.
