Brock Purdy and George Kittle have turned into one of the NFL’s most efficient quarterback-tight end pairings, and Pro Football Focus’ numbers put the San Francisco 49ers duo in rare company.
Since PFF began tracking grades, Purdy and Kittle rank fourth among all quarterback-pass catcher combinations with at least 75 targets at 0.750 EPA per play. Only Justin Fields-DJ Moore, Drew Brees-Kenny Stills and Sam Bradford-Adam Thielen sit ahead of them. Among tight end pairings, nobody tops that mark, and the volume behind it stands out too: Purdy has thrown Kittle 269 targets across four seasons from 2022-25, more than any other top-15 duo by at least 52 targets.
That workload has produced 3,035 yards, 26 touchdowns and a 139.7 passer rating.
The connection kept humming in 2025. In a season that qualified him among tight ends with at least 25 targets, Kittle finished fifth in the NFL at 0.59 EPA per play, catching 41 of 49 targets for 475 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. It was the fourth straight qualifying season in the position’s top tier for the Purdy-Kittle pairing, and none of those seasons has dipped below 0.58 EPA per play.
San Francisco even had another tight end right behind them on the league list. Jake Tonges came in sixth at 0.58 EPA per play with Purdy, hauling in 20 of 27 targets for 213 yards and three touchdowns while posting a 40.7% positive-play rate that topped Kittle’s 36.7% mark for the year. The 49ers ended up with back-to-back spots on the league-wide tight end leaderboard, a pretty unusual sight for one team.
The bigger picture is even more striking. In the entire PFF era, only two tight end connections have cracked the top 15 all-time duos by EPA per play at 75-plus targets: Purdy-Kittle and Kitna-Witten. The rest of that list is made up of quarterback-wide receiver pairings, many of them built on smaller, flashier samples instead of the kind of sustained production San Francisco has stacked over four seasons.
That’s the story of the Purdy-Kittle era: steady, efficient, and hard to knock off course. And with Tonges emerging as a real second option, the 49ers may have one of the league’s most productive tight end rooms.
Kittle might not be himself to start the 2026 season while he recovers from his Achilles injury, but Tonges should be able to fill in nicely - like how he did this past year.
In Other News...
Deebo Samuel Just Got Linked To A Brutal NFC West Return
Deebo Samuel is already a familiar name around the NFC West, but the next chapter of his career could keep him in the division in a way 49ers fans would not love. After spending time with Washington and then San Francisco, the former Pro Bowl wideout is now being mentioned as a possible fit for a Rams offense that could use another proven target behind Davante Adams and Puka Nacua.
The appeal is easy to see from Los Angeles side, with the current depth chart still leaving room for a veteran receiver who can stabilize the middle of the lineup. Samuels recent production suggests he still has enough left to matter, and the idea of him landing on a short-term deal only adds to the intrigue as the Rams weigh whether to make a move that would hit close to home in the division. [Read more 🡒]
Three 49ers Camp Battles Could Shape Shanahans Season
Training camp usually sorts out depth charts, but for the 49ers, a few of the most important decisions are already taking shape before the pads even come on. Left guard is one of the cleaner competitions, with Connor Colby entering as the favorite and Carver Willis and Robert Jones trying to force their way into the picture. It is the kind of battle that can quietly matter a lot in Kyle Shanahans offense, where one spot on the interior can affect everything from protection to run-game timing.
The secondary has its own set of questions, and those could be just as revealing. Renardo Green is facing real pressure at cornerback from Jack Jones and rookie Ephysians Prysock, while at safety Malik Mustapha appears set, leaving JiAyir Brown, Marques Sigle and Ashtyn Davis to sort out the other starting role. With so much competition clustered in a few spots, camp will not just determine who starts, but how much flexibility the 49ers have when the season begins. [Read more 🡒]