What It Means:

Kittle's rep has been in close contact with the team, and 49ers coaches have been talking with Kittle all offseason, according to Lynch, who stated that the team will try "really hard" to get a deal done. Kittle has been the best all-purpose weapon in the 49ers offense in back-to-back seasons and produced 93 receptions on 117 targets (79.5%) for 1,124 yards (12.1 per reception) and 5 touchdowns in 2019 while playing through a knee injury. Kittle was Pro Football Focus' highest-graded tight end last season in overall (95.0), receiving (95.0), and drops (90.9).

Kittle is the TE2 in our preseason fantasy rankings. His projection includes 91.2 receptions (128.6 targets), 1,069.5 yards, and 8.1 touchdowns.