TE · SF · GWTTKB

George Kittle — fantasy football 2026

Every game, every stat category, and what the board says. 14.68 points per game in 2025, an ADP of 93.2, usage worth 10.7.

32 years old · 9 seasons of experience · 2017 draft class

Updated 2026-08-16 · free, no account, no paywall
Every figure below comes from our database. Where a stat is not held, the row is absent rather than zero.
ADP 93.2
Consensus across 4 books, standard deviation 3.7, 8.9 picks between cheapest and priciest. Cheapest on underdog, priciest on yahoo.
SLEEPER92.2
ESPN98.1
YAHOO89.2
UNDERDOG114.3
CBS93.2
FFA89

Draft-room facts

Goes aroundRound 8, pick 9 in a 12-team draft
Positional rankTE9
Bye week8
ADP standard deviation3.7 picks

What we project for 2026

Our board has him at 160.4 points, 10.6 per game — 59.1 catches, 737 yards, 4.6 TDs. That is TE3, 89 overall.

The range runs from a floor of 8.7 points per game to a ceiling of 13.8, with the median at 10.6. Boom rate 30%, bust rate 18%. The spread is the actual bet, not the middle number.

He goes at 93.2 on consensus and our board has him 89. We rank him 4.2 picks better than the room drafts him, so the market is underpricing him — that is the disagreement worth acting on.

Our written view

Note: the transcript's 'KD' refers to the 49ers' veteran TE coming off an Achilles. If the recovery is the milder Achilles variety as reported, he's a late-round elite-TE value with far more upside than the mid-tier - exactly the 'pay up or wait, never the middle' play, landed late.

buy · medium conviction · 2026-06-14

The offense he plays in, 2026

San Francisco 49ers returns 5 of 6 continuity slots, replacing wr1. Brock Purdy at quarterback, Kyle Shanahan as head coach, Klay Kubiak calling it. The offense projects to 33.7 pass attempts a game at high confidence and 27.7 rushes.

In: Mike Evans (wr1), De'Zhaun Stribling (wr2), Christian Kirk (wr4), Jacob Cowing (wr7), Kaelon Black (rb2). Out: Jauan Jennings (wr1), Kendrick Bourne (wr3), Brian Robinson Jr. (rb2).

His own projected target share for 2026 is 11.5%, with a bear case of 9.3% and a bull case of 12.7% and a full range of 7.9% to 14%. That comes from 16 historical comparables, not from a depth chart.

The projected target split across the offense:

De'Zhaun Stribling16.1%
Mike Evans11.8%
George Kittle 11.5%
Ricky Pearsall10.4%
Christian Kirk9.2%
Christian McCaffrey8.9%

Our written view on this offense in 2026

Key additions: Signed WR Mike Evans from Bucs in free agency. Signed WR Christian Kirk in free agency. Drafted WR De'Zhaun Stribling in the 2nd round from Ole Miss. Drafted RB Kaelon Black in the 3rd round.

Key departures: WR Brandon Aiyuk (who did not play all of 2025 due to injury) is gone. WR Jauan Jennings is also gone. He has functioned as 49ers WR 1/2 for the past two seasons. RB Brian Robinson Jr left to ATL in free agency.

Notes: Stribling round 2 has opportunity to break out early. Mike Evans signing in free agency. Should be alpha WR1 but aging & injury risk. Potential sell high but should produce in 2026. Drafted RB Kaelon Black round 3 from Indiana. Black was not even invited to the NFL combine, but 49ers LOVE him. Could assume RB2 role immediately if he beats out Jordan James. Ricky Pearsall has an opportunity to break out as a WR2 but needs to stay healthy enough to do so. Signed Christian Kirk in offseason, veteran with no fantasy value but will take away targets. Kittle recovering from torn achilles. Drafted Wills the TE. Tonges should function as primary TE2, Wills will be TE3. CMC is a potential sell high candidate but know if healthy he is the number 1 overall RB in 2026.

How the volume number was reached: Same QB Brock Purdy returning — anchor to 2025 actuals (33.7 att/g); Regressed 30% toward league mean 33.5, floored at 30 → 33.6 att/g.

How that share projection was built

16 historical comps for TEs age ~30, prior share 20.1%, same team, OC continuity. Distribution: median 14.8%, p25-p75 [6.3%, 18.6%], tails [1.2%, 23.4%]. Closest comps: Rob Gronkowski 2020→2021 (TB: 14.8%→17.3%); Zach Ertz 2022→2023 (ARI: 18.2%→19.1%); Zach Ertz 2021→2022 (PHI→ARI: 19.6%→17.9%). Adjustment: -3% from mixed_decline (conflicting signals)

self-anchored 58% to own 20.1% role (3yr), 42% to comp median 14.8%

The named comps are the closest historical matches and the arrow is what their share actually did the following season. That is the working, not a summary of it — if you disagree with the projection, this is the part to argue with.

Offensive environment: SF rates 25.4 against a league average of 23, 2.4 points above it on opponent-adjusted least squares (multi-capture merge).

2026 schedule

Opponent-adjusted pass defense faced, against 2025 ratings. Positive is an easier slate.

Full season-2.6 · harder
Weeks 1–6+1.9 · easier
Weeks 12–17-8.4 · harder
Fantasy playoffs (15–17)-15.3 · harder

Read this narrowly. Our own testing found that season-long strength of schedule does not survive as a draft input — defensive quality is among the least stable team properties year to year, and a preseason slate is built on last year's identities. The playoff-weeks column is the only one we would let break a tie, and even then it is a tiebreaker rather than a reason. The finding.

What happened when he missed time

From the absence record rather than a depth chart — who actually gained when he was out.

SeasonGames missedMain beneficiaryTheir PPR gain
20203Jordan Reed+8.3
Read the full George Kittle study →

Dynasty context not redraft

Everything in this section is about his dynasty trade value — what he is worth as a long-term asset in the trade market. It is not a forecast of his 2026 fantasy scoring. A player can be a fine redraft pick while his dynasty value falls, and the reverse. The redraft read is above; this is a different question with a different answer.

Where he sits in the dynasty value cycle

His dynasty value has moved -14.4% over the last twelve months. The market cycle classifies him as stable.

For context on how long this lasts at the position: the average career at his position produces 1.3 elite seasons and 2.3 startable seasons.

The five most similar seasons, and what their dynasty value did next

Matched on production profile — production-driven (pedigree ignored). The last column is how that player’s dynasty value moved the following year — a market outcome, not a scoring one.

PlayerSeasonTheir PPGSimilarityNext year
Evan Engram202313.559%-18.5%
Dallas Goedert202410.454%+6.7%
Darren Waller20239.453%-76.8%
Mark Andrews202313.552%-26%
Evan Engram20249.949%-20.2%

Of the 5 with a following season on record, 1 gained value, 4 lost it and 0 held roughly flat.

Four years of dynasty value

02,0004,0006,0008,000202120222023202420252026
Monthly superflex value, 2020-04 to 2026-07. Down 53% across the series, peaking at 8,162.

The player

Draft capital and athletic profile

Drafted2017, round 5, pick 146 by SFO
CollegeIowa
Age at draft23
Height6′4″
Weight247 lb
40-yard dash4.52s
Vertical35″
Broad jump132″

Availability and volatility

Career PPR per game15
Week-to-week variation0.6
Boom rate23%
Bust rate26.2%
Games missed per season0.8
Injury historyKnee, Foot, Calf, Hamstring
Correlation between his posted line and his actual score0.57

That correlation is how closely the books’ posted line tracked what he actually scored, week to week. A higher number means the market has him figured out and there is less to exploit; a lower one means his weeks are harder to price.

Injury type matters more than games missed. Measured across our injury database, knee and foot returns stay below a player’s pre-injury baseline for all three of the first games back, while hamstring returns over-recover by the third.

The record, season by season

2025 · SF · 11 games

His best game was Week 11 against ARI — 24.7 PPR on 6 targets and a 24% target share, in a game that finished 41-22. His worst was Week 7 against ATL at 0, on 2 targets, final score 20-10. Across 11 games he cleared 20 points 4 times and came in under 8 points 3 times.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 10.7 points per game. He scored 14.68, 26.5% above it. The engine classified the season as very_lucky. On receiving touchdowns specifically he finished 6 against 3.29 expected, a gap of 2.7.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1SEA17-1312.54425111.8%28%
7ATL20-10002008.3%81%
8HOU15-2614.34543116.1%90%
9NYG34-246.94432017.4%86%
10LA26-4223.49984123.1%90%
11ARI41-2224.76667224%87%
12CAR20-913.861078031.3%91%
13CLE26-810.74567021.7%87%
15TEN37-2422.88988132.1%96%
16IND48-2724.578115124.2%62%
18SEA3-137.95729025.9%95%

Production

Receptions57
Targets69
Receiving yards628
Carries1
Rushing yards-3
Touchdowns7
Points per game14.68
Yards per target9.1
Catch rate82.61%
Yards per carry-3

Role

Snap share81.18%
Target share21.45%
Air-yards share18.5%
WOPR0.453
RACR1.478

Efficiency

Average depth of target6.7
Yards after catch per reception4.4
Yards before catch per reception6.6
Total YAC252
Broken tackles2
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted138.4
Receiving EPA per game4.21
Rushing EPA per game-0.09

Scoring position

Red-zone targets13
Red-zone target share14.3%
End-zone target share14.7%
Red-zone carry share1%
Expected receiving TDs3.29
Actual receiving TDs6
Receiving TD luck2.71
Expected rushing TDs0.05

Who else ate

The offense threw it 574 times. He took 13.24% of the targets. 2 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Christian McCaffrey24.76%
Jauan Jennings17.27%
George Kittle 13.24%
Kendrick Bourne10.17%
Ricky Pearsall10.17%
Jake Tonges8.83%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 2 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Brock Purdy74916.79.5724.43%
Mac Jones42011.157.9516.23%

Blowouts against close games

3 of his 11 games were blowouts, 37.1% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 19.97 in those and 12.5 in close games — a meaningful share of his scoring came with the game already decided.

2024 · SF · 15 games

His best game was Week 8 against DAL — 24.8 PPR on 7 targets and a 28% target share, in a game that finished 30-24. His worst was Week 13 against BUF at 1.7, on 2 targets, final score 10-35. Across 15 games he cleared 20 points 6 times and came in under 8 points 2 times. In the 6 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 18.3; in the 9 decided by more, 14.1. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 11.1 points per game. He scored 15.77, 42.2% above it. The engine classified the season as very_lucky. On receiving touchdowns specifically he finished 8 against 5.89 expected, a gap of 2.1.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1NYJ32-1984540017.2%92%
2MIN17-2320.67876122.2%73%
4NE30-1314.54445115.4%94%
5ARI23-2420.481264137.5%91%
6SEA36-2422.85658222.2%88%
7KC18-2815.26792022.6%92%
8DAL30-2424.867128128%94%
10TB23-2014.73457111.8%89%
12GB10-3820.26682123.1%84%
13BUF10-351.7127011.8%100%
14CHI38-1321.166151023.1%85%
15LA6-1210.14761022.6%96%
16MIA17-2918.689106024.3%98%
17DET34-4019.288112022.2%94%
18ARI24-474.7232707.1%29%

Production

Receptions78
Targets94
Receiving yards1,106
Touchdowns8
Points per game15.77
Yards per target11.77
Catch rate82.98%

Role

Snap share86.6%
Target share20.74%
Air-yards share19.88%
WOPR0.449
RACR1.491

Efficiency

Average depth of target8.1
Yards after catch per reception6.7
Yards before catch per reception7.5
Total YAC522
Broken tackles4
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted135.2
Receiving EPA per game4.53

Scoring position

Red-zone targets21
Red-zone target share25.6%
End-zone target share33.3%
Expected receiving TDs5.89
Actual receiving TDs8
Receiving TD luck2.11

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game1 of 13
Yards per target1 of 13
Target share5 of 13
Air-yards share4 of 13

Who else ate

The offense threw it 533 times. He took 19.5% of the targets. 2 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Jauan Jennings23.44%
George Kittle 19.5%
Deebo Samuel16.8%
Brandon Aiyuk9.75%
Ricky Pearsall9.54%
Christian McCaffrey3.94%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 3 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Brock Purdy138516.2811.7321.61%
Brandon Allen1620.213.6723.1%
Joshua Dobbs134.797.1%

Blowouts against close games

5 of his 15 games were blowouts, 26.3% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 12.44 in those and 18.3 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

2023 · SF · 16 games

His best game was Week 5 against DAL — 27.7 PPR on 4 targets and a 16% target share, in a game that finished 42-10. His worst was Week 6 against CLE at 1.1, on 2 targets, final score 17-19. Across 16 games he cleared 20 points 4 times and came in under 8 points 7 times. In the 3 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 6.7; in the 13 decided by more, 14.1. He scored more when the game was not close.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 9.4 points per game. He scored 12.7, 28.2% above it. The engine classified the season as very_lucky.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1PIT30-74.93619021.4%69%
2LA30-2363330012.5%96%
3NYG30-12167990026.5%83%
4ARI35-161.911904.8%96%
5DAL42-1027.73467316%79%
6CLE17-191.112108.3%98%
7MIN17-22135778024.1%96%
8CIN17-3123.9911149036.7%93%
10JAX34-320.634116114.8%73%
11TB27-1422.98989136%97%
12SEA31-134.93519016.7%100%
13PHI42-1910.84668024%93%
14SEA28-1616.63576118.5%93%
15ARI45-297.42454015.4%86%
16BAL19-3319.6710126022.7%89%
17WAS27-105.93429014.8%91%

Production

Receptions65
Targets90
Receiving yards1,020
Carries1
Rushing yards2
Touchdowns6
Points per game12.7
Yards per target11.33
Catch rate72.22%
Yards per carry2

Role

Snap share89.5%
Target share19.57%
Air-yards share22.44%
WOPR0.451
RACR1.287

Efficiency

Average depth of target9.5
Yards after catch per reception7.4
Yards before catch per reception8.3
Total YAC483
Broken tackles5
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted122.5
Receiving EPA per game3.73
Rushing EPA per game0.04

Scoring position

Red-zone targets14
Red-zone target share17.3%
End-zone target share20%
Expected receiving TDs2.86
Actual receiving TDs3
Receiving TD luck0.14

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game5 of 14
Yards per target1 of 14
Target share8 of 14
Air-yards share3 of 14

Who else ate

The offense threw it 491 times. He took 19.82% of the targets. 3 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Brandon Aiyuk23.13%
George Kittle 19.82%
Deebo Samuel19.6%
Christian McCaffrey18.28%
Jauan Jennings7.27%
Ray-Ray McCloud3.3%

Blowouts against close games

8 of his 16 games were blowouts, 45.6% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 11.59 in those and 6.7 in close games — a meaningful share of his scoring came with the game already decided.

2022 · SF · 15 games

His best game was Week 16 against WAS — 30 PPR on 8 targets and a 38.1% target share, in a game that finished 37-20. His worst was Week 10 against LAC at 3.1, on 2 targets, final score 22-16. Across 15 games he cleared 20 points 4 times and came in under 8 points 7 times. In the 4 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 11.9; in the 11 decided by more, 13.9. He scored more when the game was not close.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 9.4 points per game. He scored 13.37, 35% above it. The engine classified the season as very_lucky.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
3DEN10-116.84528017.2%91%
4LA24-94.42424016%94%
5CAR37-157.75647020%88%
6ATL14-2816.381083024.4%98%
7KC23-4421.86998119.6%89%
8LA31-1412.93539119.2%100%
10LAC22-163.1122107.1%100%
11ARI38-1024.44684220.7%74%
12NO13-05.63426010.8%97%
13MIA33-174.2232207.5%96%
14TB35-76.84528022.7%79%
15SEA21-1325.34593219.2%84%
16WAS37-203068120238.1%90%
17LV37-3412.34823123.5%93%
18ARI38-1318.94629230%71%

Production

Receptions60
Targets86
Receiving yards765
Touchdowns11
Points per game13.37
Yards per target8.9
Catch rate69.77%

Role

Snap share89.6%
Target share19.73%
Air-yards share18.21%
WOPR0.423
RACR1.511

Efficiency

Average depth of target6.5
Yards after catch per reception6.4
Yards before catch per reception6.4
Total YAC382
Broken tackles4
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted127.2
Receiving EPA per game2.64

Scoring position

Red-zone targets16
Red-zone target share21.9%
End-zone target share41.7%
Expected receiving TDs4.33
Actual receiving TDs5
Receiving TD luck0.67

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game2 of 11
Yards per target1 of 11
Target share6 of 11
Air-yards share4 of 11

Who else ate

The offense threw it 512 times. He took 17.88% of the targets. 2 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Brandon Aiyuk23.7%
Deebo Samuel19.54%
George Kittle 17.88%
Christian McCaffrey13.51%
Jauan Jennings11.64%
Ray-Ray McCloud5.2%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 2 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Jimmy Garoppolo95111.448.8217.22%
Brock Purdy63516.25923.5%

Blowouts against close games

7 of his 15 games were blowouts, 61.1% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 17.5 in those and 11.88 in close games — a meaningful share of his scoring came with the game already decided.

2021 · SF · 14 games

His best game was Week 13 against SEA — 39.6 PPR on 12 targets and a 40% target share, in a game that finished 23-30. His worst was Week 12 against MIN at 2.3, on 2 targets, final score 34-26. Across 14 games he cleared 20 points 3 times and came in under 8 points 5 times. In the 9 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 14.3; in the 5 decided by more, 13.9. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 11.1 points per game. He scored 14.14, 17.7% above it. The engine classified the season as lucky. On receiving touchdowns specifically he finished 5 against 2.47 expected, a gap of 2.5.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1DET41-3311.84578021.7%95%
2PHI17-115.74417013.3%100%
3GB28-3017.17992023.7%100%
4SEA21-28841040025.6%92%
9ARI17-3120.168101120.5%73%
10LA31-10165750136.8%76%
11JAX30-1013.44434120%83%
12MIN34-262.3121307.7%93%
13SEA23-3039.6912181240%93%
14CIN26-2334.11315151140.5%96%
15ATL31-1315.36693025%96%
16TEN17-204.1232108.6%100%
17HOU23-74.5122908.7%95%
18LA27-2465710021.9%94%

Production

Receptions71
Targets94
Receiving yards910
Carries3
Rushing yards20
Touchdowns6
Points per game14.14
Yards per target9.68
Catch rate75.53%
Yards per carry6.67

Role

Snap share91.86%
Target share22.43%
Air-yards share22.46%
WOPR0.493
RACR1.331

Efficiency

Average depth of target8.3
Yards after catch per reception6.3
Yards before catch per reception6.5
Total YAC450
Broken tackles8
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted100
Receiving EPA per game1.76
Rushing EPA per game0.12

Scoring position

Red-zone targets11
Red-zone target share17.7%
End-zone target share22.7%
Expected receiving TDs2.47
Actual receiving TDs5
Receiving TD luck2.53

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game4 of 15
Yards per target1 of 15
Target share3 of 15
Air-yards share6 of 15

Who else ate

The offense threw it 514 times. He took 20.52% of the targets. 2 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Deebo Samuel26.42%
George Kittle 20.52%
Brandon Aiyuk18.34%
Jauan Jennings8.3%
Jamycal Hasty6.33%
Mohamed Sanu5.24%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 2 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Jimmy Garoppolo139214.889.5823.48%
Trey Lance124.514.58.7%

Blowouts against close games

3 of his 14 games were blowouts, 22.6% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 14.9 in those and 14.3 in close games — a meaningful share of his scoring came with the game already decided.

2020 · SF · 8 games

His best game was Week 4 against PHI — 40.1 PPR on 15 targets and a 36.6% target share, in a game that finished 20-25. His worst was Week 8 against SEA at 5.9, on 4 targets, final score 27-37. Across 8 games he cleared 20 points 2 times and came in under 8 points 1 time. In the 5 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 20.1; in the 3 decided by more, 8.3. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 13.9 points per game. He scored 15.64, 12.3% above it. The engine classified the season as lucky.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1ARI20-249.34544015.6%98%
4PHI20-2540.11515183136.6%99%
5MIA17-438.44844022.9%100%
6LA24-1623.9710109131.3%97%
7NE33-610.55755028%91%
8SEA27-375.92439010%66%
16ARI20-1213.24592023.8%50%
17SEA23-2613.87968025.7%62%

Production

Receptions48
Targets63
Receiving yards634
Carries2
Rushing yards17
Touchdowns2
Points per game15.64
Yards per target10.06
Catch rate76.19%
Yards per carry8.5

Role

Snap share82.88%
Target share24.24%
Air-yards share27.08%
WOPR0.551
RACR1.365

Efficiency

Average depth of target7.3
Yards after catch per reception6.2
Yards before catch per reception7
Total YAC297
Broken tackles1
Drop rate0.1%
Passer rating when targeted104.9
Receiving EPA per game4.53
Rushing EPA per game0.16

Scoring position

Red-zone targets4
Red-zone target share4.9%
End-zone target share5.3%
Red-zone carry share1.4%
Expected receiving TDs1.27
Actual receiving TDs1
Receiving TD luck-0.27
Expected rushing TDs0.05

Who else ate

The offense threw it 570 times. He took 12% of the targets. 1 team-mate cleared the competing-target threshold.

Brandon Aiyuk18.29%
Kendrick Bourne14.1%
George Kittle 12%
Jordan Reed8.76%
Jerick McKinnon8.76%
Deebo Samuel8.38%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 3 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Jimmy Garoppolo32214.579.4524.97%
C.J. Beathard32211.89.2724.13%
Nick Mullens2192311.6823.3%

Blowouts against close games

2 of his 8 games were blowouts, 15.1% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 9.45 in those and 20.06 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

Ask the Coach about George Kittle →
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