At least one Steeler wants to see George Kittle play for the 49ers Sunday
There’s at least one Steeler who actually wants to see George Kittle on the field Sunday at Acrisure Stadium.
It shouldn’t be surprising that the Steeler we’re talking about doesn’t have to actually try to tackle him or cover him.
“He’s the gold standard for tight end play. Him and (Kansas City’s Travis) Kelce,” Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth said Monday. “Kittle does a phenomenal job with run after (the catch). That’s the biggest thing in being an all-around tight end. I definitely looked up to him coming out (of college) and getting to know him when I came in the league.”
Now in his third season, Freiermuth has gotten to know Kittle at the “Tight End U” offseason workout camp at Vanderbilt University.
“He’s been awesome to me. Awesome to me and my development — especially at ‘Tight End U.’ So I’m looking forward to competing against him for the first time in my career,” Freiermuth said.
Well, Freiermuth may be the only guy wearing Black and Gold to feel that way. Anyone on defense charged with containing Kittle or having to deal with him as a blocker would probably be more than happy to see him on the sideline as opposed to on the field.
Because Freiermuth is right, Kittle is one of the best in the business. The 29-year-old has been first-team All-Pro once (2019) and second team twice (‘18, ‘22) and has been to four Pro Bowls (‘18, ‘19, ‘21, ‘22).
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“They have a lot of one-on-one space winners,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday. “Christian McCaffrey might be the most dynamic one-on-one space winner at running back in the NFL. Kittle might be that at tight end. Deebo Samuel might be that at receiver. Their run-after (catch) ability with their offensive eligibles is really impressive. So, they can throw short and run long and produce big plays without absorbing a significant amount of risk.”
But Kittle has also had to deal with his fair share of injuries during his career, including at the outset of this season. Word came out Monday that a groin injury is putting Kittle’s availability in doubt for Sunday’s regular-season opener.
Something that the 49ers do well is that they can deploy Kittle with McCaffrey, fullback Kyle Juszczyk, and Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk at wide receiver and run about a million plays off that five-man skill position grouping.
But a lot of that relies on Kittle because he can block in addition to simply be a pass-catching tight end.
“It’s hard for defenses to specialize if he’s on the field,” Freiermuth said. “So I’m definitely trying to take his approach into my game as well.”
So if Kittle can’t play or is limited, do the Niners risk tipping their hand with different personnel packages? Or do they simply stick with the game plan and go with the next man up at tight end?
Those men are Charlie Woerner (eight catches, 88 career yards) and Ross Dwelley (three catches, 105 yards last year).
For Wednesday’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast, Roxy Bernstein of ESPN and 95.7 The Game in San Francisco joined us and said he doesn’t expect the 49ers to deviate from their usual personnel usage if Kittle is out or limited— just with less of an emphasis on the tight end.
“I think it’s next man up at tight end,” Bernstein said. “You’re not going to see the impact that Kittle would have on defense from the likes of Charlie Woerner or Ross Dwelley. They’re competent, but they’re not George Kittle. But the Niners have those weapons, the versatility in Deebo, and McCaffrey, and then Kyle Juszczyk to use him in the passing game as well. That’s the tough thing. What (head coach) Kyle Shanahan is really good at doing is finding those matchups, and capitalizing on it, and taking advantage of it.”
Without Kittle, though, the dominoes start to fall a lot easier for the Steelers defense. With apologies to Freiermuth, I’m sure most in Pittsburgh would be happy to see that happen.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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