© Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Three of the four major sports are taking over the Bay Area right now. The San Jose Sharks and Golden State Warriors are in the postseason hunt, but could the San Francisco 49ers be joining them in 2019?
Tuesday, 49ers tight end George Kittle was a guest on Tim Kawakami’s “TK Show” podcast. With the NFL Draft set to begin Thursday evening, Kittle discussed what the future may hold for the 49ers, and what he’d like to see from San Francisco’s offense in 2019.
“Consistency and staying on the field,” Kittle said. “You can look at red-zone too, I don’t think we were very good down there. I think we put our defense in a couple of really precarious situations multiple times where we’d take some three-and-outs, while they (opposing teams) were going on long drives against our defense.”
The 49ers offense showed improvement throughout the 2018 season, despite losing Jimmy Garoppolo to a season-ending injury in week three. Their offensive ranks in 2018 were as follows:
Points per game: 21st (21.4)
Yards per game: 16th (360.6)
Passing-yards per game: 15th (241.7)
Rushing-yards per game: 13th (118.9)
Offensively, the 49ers were able to put up a decent amount of points, mostly from the foot of stud-kicker Robbie Gould. Kittle would like to see the offense take the pressure off the defense more in 2019.
“We have to stay on the field more, give our defense breaks, and the longer you have the ball, the better your chance of winning.”
Before the 2019 draft concludes on Saturday, the 49ers are expected to add a wide receiver to their offense. Other than Kittle himself, the team still lacks a consistent red-zone threat, but that need may be addressed early on in this year’s draft.
In the second round of last year’s draft, the 49ers selected wide receiver Dante Pettis. Between Kittle, Pettis and other offensive weapons, Kittle trusts that the team is in good hands with General Manager John Lynch and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan making the calls.
“You know, whoever Mr. Lynch and Coach Shanahan pick, I’m happy with. I have no preference, as long as they bring in somebody who they think will make the team better, I’m happy.”