George Kittle Week 18 Outlook - Cardinals at 49ers

By Derek Brown (FantasyPros), Sun, Jan 8th 2023, 12:05pm EST

Kittle has been a monster with Purdy under center. He has had a 25.2% target share, a 75% end zone target share, a 28.9% air yard share, and 2.9 yards per route run. This has occurred without Samuel in the lineup, which is notable. Kittle's splits without Samuel have been nice. With Samuel in the lineup, Kittle's fantasy points per game (PPR) have fallen from 15.6 to 14.3, and his receiving touchdowns have dipped from 0.73 per game to 0.36. This doesn't mean that Kittle can't continue his run of dominance, but Samuel's return could sting. Arizona remains a prime matchup for tight ends ranking 32nd in fantasy points per game, 31st in catch rate, and 30th in receiving yards per game conceded to tight ends.