San Francisco 49ers Draft Picks Could Help George Kittle Return To 2019 Form

The San Francisco 49ers invested heavily in the tight end position in the 2023 draft, picking two players who could not only take some of the burden off All-Pro George Kittle, but also facilitate his best year since his prolific 2019 campaign that ended with the Niners narrowly missing out on a Super Bowl title.

San Francisco selected Alabama tight end Cameron Latu with their third and final pick in the third round before later taking further advantage of a deep class at the position with the selection of Brayden Willis out of Oklahoma in the seventh round.

Those additions saw the 49ers finally address a distinct lack of depth behind Kittle and, while neither was greeted with much fanfare, there is reason to believe both Latu and Willis can have an impact in setting Kittle up for his most productive season in five years.

Neither Latu nor Willis enjoyed especially productive collegiate careers, yet their versatile skill sets may well prove critical in opening things for Kittle to reprise his form of 2018 and 2019.

That is not to say Kittle has not produced since those seasons. To the contrary, he scored 11 touchdowns last campaign.

But Kittle has not topped 1,000 yards since the 2019 season, in part owing to his struggles with injury. However, the arrivals of Latu and Willis may lead to a shift in how the Niners deploy their personnel that would be favorable to Kittle’s hopes of producing to that extent again in 2022, even in an offense in which he has a lot of competition for targets.

Per Joseph Jefe, the 49ers played 277 of their 1,190 offensive snaps in formations that included at least two tight ends last season.

Yet other than Kittle, they did not have a receiving tight end in whom they could afford to have a great deal of belief. Having clearly valued Latu highly and thought enough of Willis to make him a late-round pick, the Niners hope they will have a pass-catching tight end beyond Kittle deserving of their faith, potentially leading to a bump in their number of two-tight end sets in 2023.

Last season, San Francisco’s most commonly used two-tight end formation was 12 personnel, with the 49ers utilizing it on 15 percent of their offensive snaps and passing the ball on 40 percent of those snaps.

The inexperience of Latu and Willis may make it unlikely the Niners will trust them with too many important blocking assignments early as rookies, perhaps prohibiting Kittle from seeing any substantial increase in targets from 12 personnel.

Instead, it is the potential bump in two-back, two-tight end formations that could well be key to him producing at a higher level in the coming season.

San Francisco played only 78 snaps in 22 personnel — two running backs, two tight ends — in 2023 and, with the talent the 49ers have at their disposal, there is reason to believe that number will grow much larger going forward.

In 22 personnel, the 49ers would theoretically have the opportunity to send two tight ends out in pass patterns and still have at least one back, most likely fullback Kyle Juszczyk, provide additional help to the offensive line in protection.

Assuming he makes the roster — which is far from a guarantee as a seventh-round pick — Willis offers the 49ers additional flexibility in 22. He played snaps as both a H-back and fullback in college, meaning there is at least the possibility he and Juszczyk could line up on the field at the same time with Willis staying in to block and allowing the Niners to get the latter, the most talented pass-catcher at his position in the NFL, out into a route.

And such personnel groupings would not prevent the 49ers from getting all of their offensive stars on the field at the same time, with Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk certainties to start at wide receiver on an offense that also features superstar running back Christian McCaffrey.

Competing for targets with such talented weapons does limit Kittle’s upside somewhat, but the gravity the likes of Samuel and McCaffrey command also creates space for the three-time Pro Bowler — one of the biggest yards after catch threats in the NFL — to do significant damage in the open field. That space could well be increased by the 49ers sending a second pass-catching threat at tight end into a pattern.

With tight ends having historically struggled to make an impact in their rookie year, it may be best to temper expectations for Latu and Willis.

However, after getting precious little from their backup tight ends in recent years, simply having a rookie who can provide a viable pass-catching threat from two-tight end sets could be enough to make Kittle’s life much easier.

Kittle benefits from lining up for an offense that has the personnel to be a threat to either run or pass the ball and almost every play from any personnel package, with defenses constantly needing to be alert to the multi-faceted skill sets of McCaffrey and Samuel.

The significant rapport Kittle established with Brock Purdy, from whom he caught seven of his 11 touchdowns last season, heightens his ceiling in 2023, presuming the final pick of last year’s draft recovers expediently from elbow surgery and becomes starting quarterback for the coming campaign.

San Francisco’s decision to draft two tight ends may not be as significant of an influence as the manner in which McCaffrey and Samuel manipulate defenses or Purdy’s emergence.

Yet their arrivals figure to eventually lead to a larger usage of heavier personnel packages in which the scope for deception and, in turn, targets for Kittle in open space, will grow even larger.

The selections of Latu and Willis were moves on the margins of the 49ers’ roster, but they may well facilitate Kittle returning to the forefront as the most productive weapon on the San Francisco attack.