The San Francisco 49ers are considering adding a potential replacement for tight end George Kittle this offseason. Kittle is not planning his retirement yet, but the four-time All-Pro tight end will turn 31 next offseason. That’s pretty old for a tight end in the NFL.
George Kittle is still playing good football
Kittle is still playing at an elite level in the NFL. For the 2023 season, he earned All-Pro honors for the fourth time in his career and earned his fifth Pro Bowl selection. Kittle recorded 1,020 yards receiving in 2023, which is the third time he’s had a 1,000-yard-plus receiving year in the league.
Kittle isn’t showing signs of slowing down, but the 49ers must prepare for the year Kittle declines in production or decides to hang up his cleats.
The San Francisco 49ers are looking at Ja’Tavion Sanders
Per Tony Pauline with Sportskeeda, the 49ers have two prospects in this year’s draft in mind to replace Kittle. The 49ers have their sights set on Texas tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders:
“Texas underclassman Ja’Tavion Sanders is a terrific prospect who could slide into the late part of Round 1.
Sanders timed the 40 at just under 4.7 seconds during Combine testing Friday, though he plays much faster. He presently has 20 formal interviews at the Combine, a significant number considering Sanders interviewed with all 32 teams at the Shrine Bowl….
Sanders would be insurance for the Chiefs and Niners, as Travis Kelce is expected to play just one more season”
Sanders is considered by many draft analysts to be this year’s second-best tight end for the 2024 rookie class. The first choice is Georgia star Brock Bowers, who is expected to be a top-ten pick.
I asked Sanders at the NFL Combine about potentially playing with the Bears next season, but his answer could easily be interchanged with Brock Purdy instead of Caleb Williams. Sanders thinks his physical skills as a tight end could allow him to be a team’s number-one target at the NFL level.
Texas TE Ja’Tavion Sanders said he had a good meeting with the Bears. He said he thinks he’d be Caleb Williams No. 1 target if the #Bears draft them both. pic.twitter.com/qiJv7hrOm5
— Jordan Sigler (@JordanSig) February 29, 2024
The 49ers are interested in Erick All
Pauline is reporting the 49ers’ scouting doesn’t stop at the top end of the tight-end class. Iowa tight end Erick All is also grabbing attention from the 49ers:
“Tight end Erick All of Iowa did not workout at the Combine, as he’s still rehabbing the torn ACL he suffered last October, yet that did not stop teams from throwing a lot of love his way. There are some teams who still believe All could end up as the fourth tight end selected in the draft, somewhere in Round 3.
The tape on All, who measures in the area of 6-foot-4, 252 pounds and is estimated to run in the 4.65-second range, is outstanding, yet it’s limited the past two years. All played in seven games last season before going down with the knee injury and just three the prior year at Michigan before suffering an injury that sidelined him.”
All was listed as a Day 3 pick heading into the NFL Combine, per most pre-draft boards. However, per Pauline, All is on the radar of several teams in need of a pass catcher this draft cycle, such as the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs.
The 49ers still have Kittle under contract through the 2025 season. However, they might not have the cap space to keep him in San Francisco after his contract expires. The team is obviously aware that they need to have a succession plan for a position that is critical for head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense.
