Grades updated Rechecked every few hours on game days
The read
George's best number is share of the team's passes: 20%, 5th of 38 among tight ends.
Role is growing: When he plays he is on the field for about 9 of every 10 plays lately, up from about 6 of every 10 plays before.
Written from his numbers, not from film. 5 games are behind the season figures.
How he stacks up
Every graded stat at a glance, against all the tight ends in the league.
Drop rate1000.0%1st of 34small sample
Share of the team's passes8920%5th of 38
Yards after catch over expected89+2.5 yds5th of 36small sample
EPA per target81+0.458th of 38small sample
Catches over expected62+5.8 pts15th of 38small sample
Left is the worst at his job, right is the best, and the line down the middle is average. The bubble is his percentile: 90 means better than nine in ten qualifying tight ends. Faded bars are still small samples.
How he has progressed
Where he has ranked among tight ends after each week, and every game behind it.
Season rank climbed: 32nd to 81st percentile since Wk 2.
The line is his season-to-date rank among players at his position after each week, from 100 (the best) to 0 (the worst). It rises when he passes other players, not when he has one big game. Early weeks are noisier because fewer plays are behind them. The shaded weeks are the recent stretch.
EPA per target game by game
Week
Opponent
That game
targets
Season rank after
1
vs LAR
−1.12
5
–
2
vs MIA
+1.44
4
32nd pct
3
vs ARI
+1.46
7
89th pct
4
vs DEN
+0.76
6
94th pct
5
vs SEA
−0.40
6
81st pct
One game is a small sample: a single stat over 6 targets can swing on a handful of plays. Shaded rows are the recent stretch.
The numbers, in context
Each one against every tight end with at least 12 targets. Right on the strip is better.
EPA per target
▲Well above typical
+0.45
8th of 38 tight ends · top 22%
−0.20worse to better+0.62
Expected points added: how many points the play added to (or took from) the offense's scoring chances, given the down, the distance and the field position. Every target counts, caught or not, so a receiver cannot hide behind a catch total.
The box score: Receiving yards rise with targets, not with what the targets were worth.
Does it show up in winning? Across 64 games league-wide, teams won 69% of the time when their tight end was in the best third on EPA per target, and 24% when he was in the worst third.
Catches over expected
▲Above typical
+5.8 pts
15th of 38 tight ends · top 40%
−6.8 ptsworse to better+12.7 pts
His catch rate compared with what each target's difficulty predicted. +4 means he catches 4 more of every 100 targets than the throws suggested.
The box score: Catch rate rewards the receiver who is only thrown easy passes.
Does it show up in winning? Across 63 games league-wide, teams won 60% of the time when their tight end was in the best third on catches over expected, and 33% when he was in the worst third.
Yards after catch over expected
▲Well above typical
+2.5 yds
5th of 36 tight ends · top 14%
−2.0 ydsworse to better+2.6 yds
The yards he gains after the catch compared with what a typical receiver gets from that spot. It separates the player who makes defenders miss from the one who is simply open.
The box score: Yards after the catch is a total, not a comparison with where he caught it.
Does it show up in winning? Across 69 games league-wide, teams won 59% of the time when their tight end was in the best third on yards after catch over expected, and 39% when he was in the worst third.
Drop rate
▲Elite
0.0%lower is better
1st of 34 tight ends · top 3%
9.0%worse to better0.0%
Passes charted as drops, per target. Fewer is better. Almost everyone has few, so it is shown but not counted in his overall grade.
The box score: Drops are not an official stat.
Does it show up in winning? Across 52 games league-wide, a good or bad game on drop rate from a tight end has not lined up much with his team winning (41% wins in the best third, 65% in the worst).
Share of the team's passes
▲Well above typical
20%
5th of 38 tight ends · top 14%
10%worse to better20%
The portion of his team's pass attempts that were thrown to him, in the games he was targeted. It shows whether he is the focus of the offense.
The box score: Targets and receptions do not say how big the offense's passing game was.
Does it show up in winning? Across 172 games league-wide, teams won 56% of the time when their tight end was in the best third on share of the team's passes, and 37% when he was in the worst third.
How he plays
Tendencies: how his game differs from the tight ends around him. These are not better or worse, only different, and often say as much about the offense or defense he plays in as about him.
Average depth of target
Style
7.6 yds
Works downfield, more than most tight ends. A typical one is 6.3 yds.
4.6 ydslow to high8.8 yds
How far downfield his targets are, on average. It is a role, not a grade.
Deep targets
Style
7%
Right around the middle of tight ends: a typical one is 6%.
0%low to high12%
The share of his targets that are 20 or more yards downfield.
Contested targets
Style
9%
Gets targeted in open space, more than most tight ends. A typical one is 13%.
4%low to high27%
The share of his targets charted as contested: a defender is on him at the catch point. It says how he is used, not whether he wins.
Screen targets
Style
14%
Is a screen target often, more than most tight ends. A typical one is 5%.
0%low to high17%
The share of his targets that are screen passes, a sign his yards come from the offense's design.
Playing time
He has played in 4 of his team's 4 games with snap counts, on the field for about 68% of the team's offensive plays when he plays.
Role is growing. When he plays he is on the field for about 9 of every 10 plays lately, up from about 6 of every 10 plays before.
46%
LAR
48%
MIA
85%
ARI
91%
DEN
?
SEA
Each column is a game: the share of his team's offensive snaps he played. 80% means about 8 of every 10 plays. “Out” means he did not play; a question mark means snap counts are not posted yet. Shaded games are the recent stretch.
Game by game
Every game this season: how it ended for his team, how much he played, his box score, and the advanced numbers from that one game. One game is a small sample, so read the right-hand columns as a snapshot, not his level.
George Kittle game by game
Game
Result
Snaps
Tgt
Rec
Yds
TD
EPA/target
CROE
YAC over exp.
Target share
Wk 1vs LAR
W 27–7
46%
5
2
12
0
−1.12
−29.6 pts
+0.8 yds
15%
Wk 2vs MIA
W 35–13
48%
4
4
80
1
+1.44
+41.9 pts
+5.4 yds
19%
Wk 3vs ARI
W 36–30
85%
7
6
82
2
+1.46
+19.0 pts
+1.8 yds
26%
Wk 4vs DEN
W 24–14
91%
6
4
70
1
+0.76
−5.4 pts
+10.3 yds
21%
Wk 5vs SEA
W 32–29
–
6
5
24
0
−0.40
+6.9 pts
−3.7 yds
19%
The box score
The traditional totals, with where each ranks among tight ends. A total rewards volume, which is why the advanced numbers above matter.
Ranks are among players at the same job who have enough plays to be graded. Grades and rankings come from play-by-play, charting and snap-count data, so they cannot see blocking, route running or assignments. See how the grades work.
Data: nflverse play-by-play, CC BY 4.0. Also FTN charting, Pro Football Reference advanced stats, snap counts and injury reports, all through nflverse. Calculations and charts by Raiders Rundown.
