Most around the NFC consider the Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce to be the best tight end in the league and have considered him as such for the last few years.
Many of those same people feel that although San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle is an excellent player, he isn’t quite on Kelce’s level.
A look at both of their stats for the 2022 season would seem to confirm this stance – Kelce finished the year with 1,338 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns while Kittle is at 765 yards and 11 touchdowns.
However, in Week 18’s game against the Arizona Cardinals, Kittle surpassed Kelce for the most receiving yards by a tight end in his first six seasons with 5,254 to Kelce’s 5,236.
#49ers TE George Kittle BREAKS Travis Kelce’s record for the most receiving yards in their first six NFL Seasons (5238>5236) pic.twitter.com/xYIj45QRjp
— WayneBreezie (@WayneBreezie) January 8, 2023
A closer look at what both did in their first six seasons is even more interesting, as Kelce played 80 games and Kittle 82 games during that span.
When it comes to touchdowns during that span, the tally is also very close – Kittle has 31 and Kelce scored 32.
The Niners’ tight end closed the gap by scoring two touchdowns on Sunday versus Arizona in their 38-13 victory.
Kittle has been injury prone over the years, as he missed the first two regular season games this year with a groin injury, as well as three contests last year and eight in 2020.
But he has managed to continue to produce over the last couple of seasons, even though San Francisco hasn’t relied on him as much due to the emergence of wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel.
Look for Kittle to play a huge role in the Niners’ attempt to win their sixth Super Bowl over the next month or so.
NEXT: 49ers Have Set An Interesting New NFL Record