2018 Fantasy Football Breakout Candidate: George Kittle
TE George Kittle | San Francisco 49ers | 2nd Year
2017 Stats: 43 rec, 515 yards, 2 TD
After being drafted in the fifth round in 2017, San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle finished as TE19 in ESPN PPR leagues. As expected Jimmy Garoppolo’s take over as San Francisco’s starting quarterback brought a boost in production. Over the final three games last season, Kittle averaged 12.1 fantasy points per game (ESPN PPR scoring).
With a worthy h/t to Jennifer Eakins over at 4for4.com, Kittle led the 49ers in targets (16) and catches (nine) in the red zone last year along with the most catches on the team inside the 10-yard line as well (four). San Francisco has a group of shorter wide receivers, so Kittle’s size (6-foot-4, 250 pounds) fits well with the fact Garoppolo was top-10 in the NFL among starting quarterbacks in red zone completion percentage last season.
George Kittle is heading for a sophomore surge, says @themondaymommy … https://t.co/GpxPD0NqQe pic.twitter.com/UXFRLMXVKo
— 4for4 Fantasy Football (@4for4football) May 8, 2018
Projecting Kittle’s five-week sample of work with Garoppolo starting, he would have finished as TE11 in ESPN PPR leagues last year (138.8 points). A more aggressive and patently unrealistic projection, based on just Week 15-17, would have made Kittle the No. 4 tight end in ESPN PPR leagues in 2017.
Kittle has top-10 fantasy upside among tight ends this year, with early ADPs that don’t quite reflect that. Via Fantasy Football Calculator, he’s TE18 off the board in 12-team standard leagues and TE13 off the board in 12-team PPR leagues right now. For those that like to wait to secure a tight end, Kittle is on track to be a worthy target in the double-digit rounds of a draft.
George Kittle 2018 Projection: 58 receptions for 685 yards, 6 TD
Breakout Percentage: 66%
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