49ers’ Kittle gets Gronk’s endorsement as NFL’s supreme tight end

They both love WWE. They are new-age tight ends who block (and who relish blocking) like tackles and catch like wide receivers.

So by the power vested in me as a dues paying NFL know-it-all, I now pronounce you, George Kittle and Rob Gronkowski, bro besties.

You may exchange fist bumps.

I freely admit that I am egregiously late to this comparison. The new component in this dynamic: Gronk. The Patriots’ force of nature, retired (but NFL — not for long —  it says here), recently appeared on the Lefkoe Show podcast, on which he was asked who he would pick as the best tight end in the NFL.

“I like to go with George Kittle,” said Gronk, who retired after the 2018 season and has been hinting of a comeback ever since. “I just like his game. I said it before: He just kind of reminds me of myself. When he gets the ball, man, he just wants to keep going. Just doesn’t care who’s coming at him, just wants to break through all the tackles.”

Gronk is right. He has said it before:

Two guys who know a little something about #NationalTightEndsDay @RobGronkowski & @gkittle46 pic.twitter.com/gNFiZORhU4

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) October 11, 2019

That’s Gronk speaking on National Tight Ends Day. Speaking of, are you done shopping for National Long Snappers Day?

I digress.

An endorsement from Gronk is a big, honking deal. He has been the gold standard at tight end since forever. His other-worldly numbers over nine years: 521 catches, 7,861 yards, 15.1 yards per catch and 79 touchdowns. You can’t find two tight ends to match Gronk’s stats. Well, you could, but you’d probably have to drag Kansas City’s Travis Kelce into the mix. If not for Gronkowski, Kelce would be everybody’s pick as the league’s renaissance tight end. BTW, Gronk likes him as well.

Kittle? He’s just a pup. He has miles to catch-and-run to even approximate the data compiled by Gronk and Kelce. He’s on the right path. Last season, his second in the league, at a time when some NFL newbies still need directions to the cryotherapy chamber, Kittle caught 88 passes for an NFL tight end record of 1,377 yards. Here’s hoping we someday have the pleasure of watching the superpower besties share a football field.