Minnesota has allowed only one touchdown pass to a tight end all year. But I don’t think this should be scaring anyone away from George Kittle. I wouldn’t hesitate to start him on Saturday.
Kittle is one of the league’s best tight ends. Maybe the No. 1 guy. And he’s been on his game recently, averaging 92 yards in his last four, with 2 TDs.
And while Minnesota’s defense has been good against tight ends (allowing just 1 TD – 2 fewer than any other team) it’s not as if they’ve been shutting down the position. By my count, the Vikings have played against six other top tight ends, and those guys have all played fine. No touchdowns for those guys, of course, by they’ve averaged 7 catches for 71 yards in those games.
I like Kittle.
| Elite tight ends vs. Vikes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Tgt | No | Yds | TD |
| Hooper, Atl. | 9 | 9 | 77 | 0 |
| Waller, Oak. | 14 | 13 | 134 | 0 |
| Engram, NYG | 11 | 6 | 42 | 0 |
| Ertz, Phil. | 9 | 4 | 54 | 0 |
| Kelce, K.C. | 9 | 7 | 62 | 0 |
| Cook, N.O. | 5 | 5 | 54 | 0 |
| Kittle, S.F. | ? | ? | ? | ? |
—Ian Allan