Tight end is a hard position, especially for rookies. Kittle's first-year haul might not seem like much, but since the merger, only 16 rookie tight ends have produced more catches than Kittle's 43. His production got a modest bump when Jimmy Garoppolo took over: five games, 15-224-1, a catch rate of 78.9 percent. And now we get to dig into the growth seasons for a typical tight end. Kittle is a better athlete than blocker, and that's fine with us. At 6-4, 250, he blazed a 4.52 40 at the 2017 combine, also displaying explosiveness with strong marks in the vertical jump (35 inches) and broad jump (132 inches). Kittle tied for fifth among tight ends with 16 red-zone targets last year, but most of those were from quarterbacks far worse than Garoppolo (hence the modest TD total). The 49ers have a lot of receiving turf to be claimed, following a season in which no player had more than 59 receptions or four TD catches. Garoppolo, of course, didn't start the year with the team. Make sure Kittle is prominent on your list of potential breakout players. Heck, he could be a cheaper way to get Garoppolo and Kyle Shanahan exposure, if you miss on some of the buzzier targets. Kittle did suffer a separated shoulder in the first week of the preseason, but the 49ers expect him to be back for their regular-season opener. Read Past Outlooks