If you’re a George Kittle fantasy football owner, this season has not been fun. An IR stint followed a productive start to Week 1, and now he returns to find his QB1 on the shelf. Mac Jones has done an admirable job filling in for Brock Purdy, but it’s not quite the same. Is this Week 10 matchup against the Rams when Kittle finally gets back to his TE1 ways? Or will we have to wait longer?
Analysis
Despite playing 85% of the snaps during the last three weeks, Kittle has not parlayed his time on the field into much success. He’s pulled in eight of 11 targets for 75 yards and a score, averaging a modest 6.8 yards per target. The low upside of the 49ers passing game with Jones at the helm is cause for concern.
Theoretically, the continued absence of Ricky Pearsall and Brandon Aiyuk, on top of Jauan Jennings’ injury struggles, would make him the clear top target. However, the Patriots connection between Jones and Kendrick Bourne remains strong, siphoning some of the downfield targets. But, first and foremost, this is Christian McCaffrey’s passing offense.
Compared to Kittle’s 11 targets in the last three games, CMC has 20. It’s a far cry from the early season, where McCaffrey was recording 10+ targets per game in his sleep, but he’s still the default passing game option. It significantly limits Kittle’s upside in PPR leagues. Jones is more than content to check the ball down and take what the defense gives him, which is usually CMC coming out of the backfield. And defenses are not keen to leave Kittle open.
The verdict
That’s only going to be more difficult against the Rams. Los Angeles is allowing less than six yards per target to tight ends this year, a top-five mark in the league. Kittle’s breakout game is coming soon, but don’t count on it being this week.
