George Kittle DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (ribs) was listed as a limited participant in practice for the second straight day this week on Tuesday. Kittle missed the Week 3 contest with a hamstring injury but returned in Week 4, only to suffer an injury to his ribs. He played through his rib injury in the Week 5 loss to the division-rival Arizona Cardinals and caught a season-high eight passes (12 targets) for 64 yards and a touchdown. Kittle will most likely be removed from the final Week 6 injury report on Wednesday and be fine to play on Thursday night against the division-rival Seattle Seahawks, where he'll be a must-start TE1 in fantasy. Despite missing Week 3 due to injury, Kittle has managed to find paydirt in each of the last three games that he's played in, going for 19 catches and 185 yards on 24 targets.

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (ribs) is still listed on the team's injury report on a short week with a divisional matchup coming on Thursday night on the road at Lumen Field against the Seattle Seahawks. Although the Niners didn't practice on Monday, they listed Kittle as limited on their estimated practice report. Kittle suffered a rib injury in Week 4 but played through the injury in the Week 5 loss to the division-rival Arizona Cardinals and was no worse for the wear, catching eight pass on 12 targets for 64 yards and a touchdown. The 30-year-old missed Week 3 with a hamstring injury but has caught a touchdown pass in each of his last three games. He should be fine to suit up this Thursday and will be a must-start TE1 for fantasy managers after seeing a season-high 12 targets against the Cardinals.

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle continued his hot streak by putting up 16.4 half-PPR points on Sunday, but it wasn't enough to avoid a 24-23 home loss to the Arizona Cardinals. The colorful former Hawkeye hauled in eight of a co-team-high 12 targets for 64 yards and a touchdown. Kittle's day could have been even better if he had caught a tough first-quarter red-zone target and avoided an unforced drop on a 14-yard target later on. Historically, Kittle has been boom-or-bust but his fantasy production has been steady this year, averaging 13 half-PPR points per game with a low of six points, which came in Week 1. Kittle will be a top choice at tight end in Week 6 when the 49ers face the Seahawks in Seattle on Thursday Night Football.

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (ribs) is active for the Week 5 contest against the Arizona Cardinals. It looks like the rib injury isn't bad enough to keep him out of this one, so the TE2 on the season has the green light to go up against a defense that hasn't looked too great lately. While they've only given up an average of 5.8 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends, the 49ers have all of their pass-catchers available which should create room for Kittle to find open space. Kittle remains a must-start that has TE1 potential every time he's on the field.

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (ribs) is expected to play against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5 despite being listed as questionable, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Kittle had been limited in practice but is trending toward playing Sunday, just one week after an impressive showing against the New England Patriots in which he caught four passes for 45 yards and one touchdown. The 30-year-old is one of the NFL's best tight ends and should be deployed as a high-end fantasy TE1, even against an Arizona Cardinals defense that has performed better than expected so far this season.