49ers' George Kittle Absolutely Daring Steelers' T.J. Watt Before First Game: "You’re Not Going To Be Able To Get Past Me"

As it was announced earlier in the offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers are slated to open the season back home against the San Francisco 49ers. This will be the Steelers’ first time hosting an opening day game since the 2014 season. This matchup is poised to be one of the most intriguing matchups of the season for the Steelers and is set to feature a variety of marquee players squaring off against each other.

After losing in last year’s NFC Conference Championship game, San Francisco is bringing a revitalized roster into Pittsburgh. While the starting quarterback spot remains a question mark, the team features the likes of Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey, Nick Bosa, Trent Williams, and George Kittle. While the Steelers will need to account for each player on both sides of the ball, there is one particular who is eager to square off against one of the best in the league on the other side of the ball.

After it’s birth in 2021, Tight End University has been an annual camp for current NFL tight ends to learn from some of the top past and current players at the position. This immersive three-day program is hosted by Travis Kelce, Greg Olsen, and Kittle. For this year’s edition, the Steelers’ Pat Freiermuth is in attendance and is getting the chance to learn from some of the best in the game. Further, he is also getting the opportunity to get a leg up on who the Steelers are going to see in the first game in Kittle.

In recent history, the Steelers’ defense has seemingly had their fair share of troubles defending opposing tight ends. While we still don’t know how the Steelers’ middle linebacker duo is going to shake out, mixed with additional hybrid dime backers to help support them, they’re going to have their hands full with Kittle. As it turns out, Freiermuth may be able to take Kittle’s notes from their time together and deploy them into the defense’s preparation. Kittle joined Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take crew with Dan “Big Cat” Katz and PFT Commenter and revealed what this year’s Tight End University is going to bring.

“I’m very excited about this year,” Kittle said. “We have Gronk [Robert Gronkowski] is here to teach stuff, he’s very excited about it. And then Jordan Reed is coming to teach releases, I’m very excited about that.” Kittle continued, “Travis is doing two different classes on why he takes a basic route, like a 12-yard in-route, and why he runs it differently versus cover-four, cover-three, man-coverage and so he’s going to teach us why he does the things that he does, that’ll be pretty interesting to listen to. I’m talking gap scheme and outside zone.”

It is fairly unanimous across the entire league in declaring Kittle as being the best blocking tight end in football. Of course, Darnell Washington is looking to work his way to that spot as he begins his career, but getting blocking advice from Kittle is extremely valuable for Freiermuth. It is one of the relatively weaker spots in his current repertoire and could be the difference between him being a “good” tight end versus him being a “great” tight end.

Looking back ahead to the in-game matchups that are staged for the first game, the battle in the trenches is going to be one to watch. We’ll be able to see Bosa versus either Dan Moore Jr. or Broderick Jones, Javon Hargrave versus Isaac Seumalo and Mason Cole, and how the Steelers’ offensive front will handle a blitzing Fred Warner. On the other side, we’ll see Alex Highsmith and Cameron Heyward against Williams, Larry Ogunjobi against Spencer Burford, and this, which will be one of the most exciting matchups to watch on the field; and it is already circled on Kittle’s calendar...

49ers' George Kittle is Eager to Square Up Against Steelers' Former Defensive Player Of The Year

T.J. Watt is poised for another historic year. After missing extended time last season due to injuries, he’s ready to get back to work on defense. As we just discussed, Kittle prides himself in being one of the premier blocking tight ends in the league. With Watt being one of, if not the top, best pass rushers in football, the two are set to square off across each other. According to Kittle, that’s a battle he expects to win.

“If it comes to blocking, I’ll toot my own horn. That’s just stuff I practice my entire offseason. I take all the reps in-season. Like I’m very prideful when it comes to that stuff. When it’s like second down and they’re like, ‘Hey, it's pass-15 weak, you’re one-on-one versus a Cam Jordan. You’re one-on-one versus T.J. Watt, go for it.’ I’m not like, ‘Yeah, like hey, he gets paid millions of dollars to rush the passer.’ But I look at it as an opportunity for me to be like, (scoffs) ‘You’re not going to be able to get past me,’ and I’m very excited about that.”

There it is, our prime time, pay-per-view worthy title match; Watt versus Kittle in the trenches. While this isn’t going to necessarily be an every-down type of ordeal, Kittle clearly has it circled. Sure, we can chalk it up to a simple competitor looking to compete against the best, but Watt has beaten the league's best pass blockers, including Kittle. Watt got the best of Kittle and the 49ers’ offense in their last matchup in 2019. In that game, Watt logged two hits on the quarterback, two passes deflected, a fumble recovery, and an interception. Meanwhile, Kittle was held to just 57 yards on six catches and no touchdowns. With the rematch now coming back to Pittsburgh in front of a hungry home crowd on opening day, Watt versus Kittle is going to be fun to watch.

Who do you think would win between Kittle and Watt? What other early matchups are you excited to see this season? Let us know in the comments below!

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