The 2023 NFL season is just around the corner, and that means fantasy football is almost back as well. Fans are making their preparations for their upcoming drafts and keeping an eye on some players to target early on. Undoubtedly, one such player is standout tight end George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers.

Since bursting onto the scene as a rookie in 2017, Kittle has become one of the best tight ends in football. When he's on the field, he's a true game-changer that defenses must take notice of. This season, he and the 49ers are out to prove that they can finally win the Super Bowl they've been oh-so-close to recently.

Today, let's take a look at Kittle's fantasy football projections for the 2023 season and see where he should go in your draft.

George Kittle's Fantasy Football Outlook for the 2023 Season

Last season, Kittle finished with 60 receptions for 765 yards and 11 touchdowns, good enough for him to place very highly among fantasy tight ends. He ranked as the second-best tight end in standard scoring leagues with 140.5 points, albeit a distant second behind Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce. In PPR and half-PPR leagues, Kittle finished as the No. 3 tight end behind Kelce and Minnesota Vikings star T.J. Hockenson, with 200.5 PPR points and 170.5 half-PPR points.

As great of a player as Kittle is, there are always a couple things to keep in mind. The first is his injury woes, as he has only played a full season once back in 2018. While Kittle usually only misses around two or three games a year, that can be the difference between making the playoffs and not in fantasy.

The second concern is that there are a lot of mouths to feed in San Francisco's offense. Kittle is sharing touches with a superstar running back in Christian McCaffrey and a strong receiving duo in Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, to say nothing of other quality players in the unit. Having to compete for touches with so many other dynamic players could be a deterring factor for fantasy owners.

Make no mistake, Kittle is still one of the best tight ends in the game. But with his injury issues and the players he shares the ball with, it's easy to see why some may be hesitant to draft him.

How does George Kittle Compare?

Getting into projections for the upcoming season, Kittle compares pretty well to other tight ends in most metrics.

In ESPN's projections for both PPR and non-PPR rankings, Kittle ranks No. 5 among tight ends. His projected stat line is 62 receptions for 726 yards and five touchdowns, coming out to 167.2 PPR points and 104.95 non-PPR points. The tight ends ahead of him are Kelce, Mark Andrews (Baltimore Ravens), Hockenson and Darren Waller (New York Giants). Honestly, though, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Kittle rise up to be a top-three tight end again by the end of the season.

George Kittle Fantasy Draft Projection

Even with some concerns, Kittle easily remains a top fantasy football tight end. As for his overall draft position, ESPN places him at No. 71 in its rankings. Really, his position may come down to the individual league. If there's a run on tight ends, then Kittle could go very early as players try to secure themselves a top player at the position.