The Facts: Kittle had a record-breaking season in 2018, with 1,377 receiving yards. That stands as the most receiving yards for a tight end in NFL history. Even more impressive, the 49ers tight end revealed Wednesday that he played most of the last half of the season with “fractured rib cartilage.”
Diehards Line:
Kittle said he injured his rib on the third play of the victory over Oakland on Nov. 1. He caught four passes for 108 yards and a touchdown in that game, including a one-handed, catch-and-run. “I thought it was going to hurt much more than it did,” Kittle said, via David Lombardi of TheAthletic.com. That means, as Matt Barrows of TheAthletic.com points out, that 793 of Kittle’s yards came after the injury. That production already had the attention of fantasy owners. The toughness is an added bonus.