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Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst located in Indianapolis, Indiana who covers the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, and college sports. He has been featured on many publications, including Athlon Sports, ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, Sporting News, and many others. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son.

Evan Massey

Contributing Sports Writer

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The San Francisco 49ers suffered through a rough 2024 NFL season. They went 6-11 and missed the playoffs, which was a huge fall after they made it all the way to the Super Bowl during the 2023 season.

During the offseason, the 49ers lost quite a few pieces and traded Deebo Samuel away. However, they were able to lock up star tight end George Kittle and quarterback Brock Purdy to new long-term contract extensions.

Kittle will be asked to step up in a big way during the upcoming 2025 season. With Samuel no longer on the roster, Kittle’s role as a go-to target for Purdy will be even more important than it has been to this point.

With that being said, Kittle is now 31 years old. He’s not getting any younger, but he’s still playing at an elite level.

Read more: 49ers’ George Kittle Reveals Major Change Brock Purdy Has Made

Ahead of the 2025 NFL season, Kittle has received an eye-opening new ranking.

Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus has put together a piece ranking the top players in the NFL over 30 years of age. Kittle was placed at No. 3 on the list behind just Derrick Henry and T.J. Watt.

“Kittle has solidified his place atop the NFL’s tight end hierarchy,” Wasserman wrote. “His 92.1 overall PFF grade led all players at the position, while his 92.4 receiving grade ranked second among all skill players, behind only Puka Nacua. Staying true to his all-around game, Kittle also finished second among qualified tight ends with a 70.8 run-blocking grade.”

Even without looking deep into his advanced statistics and grades, the impact that Kittle brought to the field was clear during the 2024 campaign.

Read more: Packers Receive Major Jaire Alexander Prediction

Kittle played in 15 games for San Francisco last year. He caught 78 passes for 1,106 yards and eight touchdowns.

Looking at the current roster for the 49ers, the team has Brandon Aiyuk, Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings and Demarcus Robinson as their top wide receivers. Aiyuk is coming off of a torn ACL, and Pearsall is relatively unproven. Purdy will need a big year from his most reliable target.

As has been the case throughout his entire career thus far, Kittle will be ready to produce. He’s more than deserving of the ranking Wasserman gave him and will prove it once again in 2025.

San Francisco will kick off the 2025 NFL season with a Week 1 matchup on the road against the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 7.

For more San Francisco 49ers and NFL news, head over to Newsweek Sports.