C.J. Beathard’s time with the 49ers didn’t leave much behind that fans remember fondly, but there’s one massive exception: George Kittle.
That connection came into focus in a recent Matt Barrows piece for The Athletic, which explored how Kittle and fullback Kyle Juszczyk wound up on San Francisco’s “10-year” wall. Buried in that reporting was a detail that says plenty about how Kittle got to the Bay Area in the first place.
The 49ers were initially drawn to Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard, and his support for Kittle helped calm concerns about the tight end’s reputation at Iowa.
“ [Kittle] caught their eye only because they were intent on drafting Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard, a close friend of Kittle’s whose backing of the tight end helped ease the doubts sown by Iowa,” Barrows wrote.
In other words, Beathard may have done the Niners one of their biggest favors without meaning to. If San Francisco hadn’t been so interested in him, it’s fair to wonder whether Kittle ever would have landed in the fifth round.
And what a miss that would have been.
Kittle has become the kind of player a franchise builds its identity around. Under Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch, he’s been one of the clearest faces of the era - a star with the production to match the personality. He’s also on a Hall of Fame track, and he’s got a real case to be mentioned among the greatest 49ers ever.
It’s also hard to picture him anywhere else. That’s part of what makes the whole thing feel so significant. Even among San Francisco legends like Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, and Ronnie Lott, spending an entire career in one uniform is rare.
Kittle is still delivering in 2026, too, which makes the story even better. He has 34 catches for 425 yards and five touchdowns, and that production has come after he literally tore his Achilles earlier this year. Somehow, he’s back and making it look routine.
The one thing missing from his résumé is a Super Bowl title. That’s the piece that still separates him from the full pantheon of 49ers greats. Maybe that changes this season.
Beathard’s stint in San Francisco may not have gone the way anyone hoped, but if his backing helped bring Kittle to the 49ers, then he played a part in one of the franchise’s most important decisions.
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