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George Kittle among fastest TEs all-time to reach 5,000-yard plateau
By Paul Harvey
Published:
George Kittle has been phenomenal with the San Franciso 49ers since breaking into the NFL as a rookie in 2017. Now, the Iowa Hawkeye product is one of the fastest tight ends in league history to reach 5,000 receiving yards.
Heading into the Thursday Night Football appearance, Kittle stood just 11 yards shy of 5,000 for his career. He quickly eclipsed that total, gashing the Seattle Seahawks’ defense for a 28-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
That touchdown grab gives Kittle over 5,000 yards in just 79 career games played. That makes the former Hawkeye the 4th-fastest TE all-time to reach the mark behind Kellen Winslow Sr., Rob Gronkowski and Travis Kelce.
With his 28-yd TD catch, @gkittle46 became the 4th-fastest TE in NFL history to reach 5,000 career receiving yards
Only Kellen Winslow Sr, Rob Gronkowski and Travis Kelce reached 5,000 yards in fewer than Kittle’s 79 career games#FTTB #TNF pic.twitter.com/6grCm2ItrL
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) December 16, 2022
After being limited to 8 games during the 2020 season, Kittle has bounced back with a 900-yard season in 2021 and is in the middle of another strong campaign in 2022. He is definitely one of the true stalwarts at the position in the NFL.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.