Kittle solid blocker, maybe more
You hear the question every year at the NFL Combine and just once you would like a player to answer, 鈥淭his one. This is the dumbest question I鈥檝e heard.鈥�
But every year it comes around:
What鈥檚 the dumbest question you鈥檝e heard?
鈥淪omeone asked me if I was a cat or a dog,鈥� said George Kittle.
He鈥檚 a tight end for Iowa and he was kicked back in his chair looking all brutish but at the same time relaxed.
Well, what did you say?
鈥淚鈥檓 a dog,鈥� Kittle said with a smirk. 鈥淚鈥檓 going after that bone.鈥�
Woof.
Kittle (6-3 3/4, 247) is a blocking tight end, but he seems to be more than that, because he doesn鈥檛 just block, he embarrasses.
And that鈥檚 one element the Steelers really could use at the position. It鈥檚 why lineman Chris Hubbard played so much as a third tight end last season. It鈥檚 why David Johnson was signed so quickly this offseason. More of a journeyman fullback/H-back type, Johnson is the best blocker they have at the position.
The Steelers have a serious pass-catching threat there in Ladarius Green, and in Jesse James they have someone who鈥檚 developing into an all-around No. 2. And Xavier Grimble shows playmaking potential. But when it comes to knocking someone on his butt, or sealing the corner the way Matt Spaeth used to, the Steelers come up shy.
Has Kittle heard the tag 鈥渂locking tight end鈥�?
鈥淵es, sir,鈥� he said.
Does it bother him?
鈥淣o, not at all,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 know I鈥檓 a versatile tight end, but if someone wants to label me as a 鈥榖locking tight end鈥� I鈥檒l take that, because I came in at 200 pounds and I was not a blocking tight end. Over the past five years I鈥檝e put on 50 pounds and that鈥檚 something I鈥檝e really put my mindset to, and something I鈥檝e been really proud of. So, if you want to call me a blocking tight end, that鈥檚 fine and I鈥檒l show I can do other things as well.鈥�
The next day Kittle did just that. His Combine times were some of the more surprising of the week. He ran his 40 in 4.52 with a 35-inch vertical jump and an 11-0 broad jump. Those are first-round numbers.
Kittle can catch the ball as well, but his 2016 stats show only 22 receptions for 314 yards and four touchdowns. He struggled with an injured foot.
鈥淚t was a mid-foot sprain and the only treatment for it was rest, which is hard to do in the middle of the football season,鈥� he said. 鈥淟ast season I wasn鈥檛 going to sit out unless they made me.鈥�
Kittle鈥檚 being graded by media analysts as a fourth through sixth-rounder, which would be perfect for a Steelers team that has more important needs. But Kittle, unlike most players at the Combine, wouldn鈥檛 comment on the level of interest any team had shown.
鈥淛ust for the team鈥檚 privacy I鈥檓 keeping that to myself,鈥� he said.
Kittle did spend four years playing in Iowa鈥檚 black and gold. And his coach, Kirk Ferentz, is a Western Pa. native. Does Kittle have any kind of affinity for the team?
鈥淵eah, I love the Steelers,鈥� he said. 鈥淏lack and gold looks good, man.鈥�
My take
Obviously, I鈥檓 a George Kittle fan, particularly if the Steelers can grab him in the fourth round. My guess is he鈥檒l need to be taken in the third round. My other favorites are monstrous Adam Shaheen (6-6 1/2, 278), the Pitt-Johnstown transfer to Ashland, and Jonnu Smith (6-2 1/2, 248), the poor guy who had boiling water poured over his head by a pregnant girlfriend who was feeling unappreciated because of his devotion to football. My guess is the Steelers won鈥檛 feel the need to tend to this well-stocked draft position until taking a late-round project for the practice squad.
Value board
Third Round 鈥� Adam Shaheen, Ashland; George Kittle, Iowa.
Fourth Round 鈥� Jonnu Smith, Florida International.
Fifth Round 鈥� Michael Roberts, Toledo.
Sixth Round 鈥� Scott Orndoff, Pitt; Blake Jarwin, Oklahoma State.
Seventh Round 鈥� Josiah Price, Michigan State; Jason Croom, Tennessee; Sam Rogers (FB), Virginia Tech.