Last season, the San Francisco 49ers found out just how special George Kittle can be at tight end. Kittle solidified himself as one of the best tight ends in the NFL in 2018 and showed his potential moving forward.

The 2018 season was a disappointing one for the 49ers but they did have a few positives come out of it. One was finding out how lethal Kittle can be in Kyle Shanahan's offense.

San Francisco lucked out by selecting Kittle in the fifth-round of the 2017 NFL Draft. To no one's surprise, Kittle came from Iowa—where they seem to produce good tight ends in the NFL.

Just this season, T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant were drafted in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft from Iowa. Kittle was an absolute steal though, being drafted in the fifth round.

The third-year tight end will be hoping to continue improving in 2019 as a tight end. With Rob Gronkowski now retired, the throne for the best tight end in the NFL is now officially open for the taking.

Last season, Kittle had 88 catches for 1,377 yards and five touchdowns. The most impressive aspect of his season was that he played the vast majority of the season with the backup quarterbacks.

In 2019, Jimmy Garoppolo returns from the injury that knocked him out of 2018.

Here are three bold predictions for the 49ers tight end in 2019.

3. 1.400+ Receiving Yards

Jimmy Garoppolo
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In 2018, Kittle was able to get 1,377 receiving yards in just his second season in the NFL. The tight end is poised to surpass that number in the upcoming season.

In any Kyle Shanahan offense, there is going to be a lot of passing going on in the offense. Therefore, there is a ton of opportunities for everyone to produce within the offense.

Even with C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens under center in 2018, San Francisco ranked 15th in the NFL in passing yards with 3,867 yards. That number should rise in 2019 with Garoppolo under center.

As a result of Garoppolo being back, Kittle could see his numbers slightly rise in the upcoming season.

As for yards, the talented tight end could get over 1,400 yards through the air in 2019.

2. 100+ Receptions

Kyle Shanahan

If last season showed us anything with the 49ers, it was that Kittle is the best weapon in their aerial attack. The 88 receptions reflect that and his targets warrant that label as well.

The young tight end was targeted 136 times in 2018 and he should see around the same number of targets in 2019.

Shanahan is smart when it comes to offense and he knows—more than anyone—that Kittle needs to be heavily involved in the offense.

Again, Garoppolo returns to being the starting quarterback in 2019. Therefore, if Kittle can get 136 targets again in 2019, he could get more than the 88 receptions he got in 2018.

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1. 10+ Touchdowns

Deebo Samuel
Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports

With the additions and Garoppolo returning, there is going to be more scoring opportunities for the 49ers in 2019. Last season, San Francisco ranked 17th in passing touchdowns in the NFL with 26.

That's another number that should increase in the upcoming season. Everyone in the offense should get more chances to score—especially Kittle. With the high-powered Los Angeles Rams offense and Russell Wilson in the same division, the 49ers need to be able to score with them.

The 49ers did add a few weapons like Deebo Samuel and Jordan Matthews this offseason but Kittle should still be the focal point of the passing offense. A quarterback's best friend is his tight end—especially in the red zone.

Again, Kittle had five touchdowns in 2018 but he should easily get more in 2019 barring injury.

The 49ers offensive weapon could grab double the amount of touchdowns he got in 2018 in 2019.