4 Tight Ends With Major Touchdown Upside for 2018

George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers

Over the last five weeks of the season -- when Jimmy Garoppolo took over starting quarterback duties -- the San Francisco 49ers scored the fifth-most points of any team.

They also finished in the top five in red zone snaps in 2017, and with Garoppolo still at the helm and 5Dimes implying them to rank sixth in points scored, we should see the Niners' offense continue to get plenty of shots at the end zone in 2018.

George Kittle benefited in a big way from the 49ers' offensive success last year.

Despite playing more than 60% of the 49ers' offensive snaps in only five games in 2017, his 16 red zone targets ranked fifth among tight ends, as well as first among 49ers players. Overall, Kittle played only 593 snaps, while the two other 49ers who saw double-digit red zone targets were Marquise Goodwin (who played 771 snaps) and Carlos Hyde (786).

Now, if we were looking for a high floor, a low snap number like that would be of some concern, because it remains to be seen whether Kittle will develop into more of an every-down player. But we're not looking for floor.

The fact that Kittle dominated San Francisco's red zone touches even while playing only a limited role is huge plus in his corner. Rookie tight ends are notorious for the small roles they play, and Kittle's 63 targets leave him tied for 14th among all rookie tight ends since 2000. Looking at that top 15, we have sophomore season data for 13 players, with 11 having played at least 10 games the next season. Of those 11, 6 turned in at least 5 touchdowns in their sophomore campaigns.

Yes, we're dealing with a small sample there, but with Kittle even belonging to that sample at all, as one of the highest-volume rookie tight ends in recent memory, it means that he offers a ton of promise.

Doing that in a high-powered offense gives him one of the best ceilings at the position outside of the elite options.