George Kittle essentially is the face of the NFL’s tight end fraternity, with the 49ers star always making an effort to uplift fellow players at the position.

During an interview on “Cleats and Convos with Deebo Samuel,” Kittle revealed which young tight end is impressing him the most right now.

“I’m a big fan of Trey McBride for the Arizona Cardinals. I like him. He’s in a system [where] Kyler Murray trusts him, throws him the ball a lot. He catches everything, he runs hard. He’s a menace in the run game. Like he’s not the greatest outside-zone blocker, but like he gets up to the second level and he’s kind of like a d–k to people, and I respect that in the run game. He gives effort. I’m a big fan of Trey McBride. He’s coming along.”

McBride is in his third NFL season after being selected No. 55 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft by the Cardinals. Prior to entering the league, McBride was vocal about Kittle being a player he modeled his own game after.

Colorado State tight end Trey McBride mentioned that George Kittle was a player he models his own game after

I asked Trey if he has reached out to George yet

Here was his response pic.twitter.com/p0nLFTnrPp

— Jordan Elliott (@splash_cousin) March 2, 2022

McBride participated in Kittle’s Tight End University in June, earning high praise from the All-Pro tight end.

“Trey Mcbride for Arizona is a young guy, who had a great year last year,” Kittle said. “He’s going to just keep getting better,” Kittle said at Tight End University.” (h/t PHNX Cardinals)

“Trey McBride for Arizona is a young guy, who had a great year last year. He’s going to just keep getting better.”

Speaking at TE University, San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle believes the Cardinals third-year player is part of the next wave of greats at the position. pic.twitter.com/BrVRD61q3F

— PHNX Cardinals (@PHNX_Cardinals) June 19, 2024

While Kittle’s 49ers have dominated the Cardinals during McBride’s NFL tenure, Arizona finally beat San Francisco for the first time since the young tight end entered the league in 2022 with an improbable 24-23 win in Week 6.

With these two stud tight ends poised to meet at least twice per season for the foreseeable future, McBride will continue to have plenty of opportunities to earn Kittle’s respect, and perhaps join the San Francisco star among the ranks of the NFL’s elite tight ends.

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