How the 49ers' starting lineup will change when George Kittle returns

The offense is evolving.

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85). / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

The 49ers are currently winning games with backups and journeymen they signed off the street.

At some point this season, their roster should get healthy, and they should have one of the deepest, most talented groups of weapons in the NFL. That's when George Kittle, Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings and Brandon Aiyuk all return eventually.

Kittle in particular is expected to return next week when the 49ers play the Atlanta Falcons.

So who will go to the bench when he returns?

The 49ers offense could look drastically different in a month

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Since Kyle Shanahan became the head coach in 2017, he'd had fullback Kyle Juszczyk in his starting lineup. Now, Juszczyk is 34. And while he has started all five of the 49ers' games this season, he has played just 35 percent of their offensive snaps, which is a career low for him on the 49ers.

It seems the 49ers are beginning to phase Juszczyk out of their offense. And that's because their running game simply isn't good this season. Christian McCaffrey still is one of the best receivers in the NFL, but he's lost some juice as a runner, and Juszczyk's blocking isn't helping him.

The 49ers are the only team in the NFL that doesn't have a rushing touchdown this season. You'd think a dominant fullback would be a major asset near the goal line, both as a blocker and as a runner, but Juszczyk is neither. Against the Rams on Sunday, the 49ers gave him a carry on the 1-yard line and he lost a yard.

San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk (44). / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Which means the 49ers have a pass-first offense this season. And Juszczyk still is a solid receiver, but he's not as good as Jake Tonges, the backup tight end who has filled in for Kittle the past few weeks. Tonges has three touchdowns in five games this season. Juszczyk has 25 touchdowns in 194 career games.

In addition, the 49ers have so many talented wide receivers. So if they're going to be a pass-first offense, they might as well start three wide receivers like they're the Greatest Show on Turf. An offense with Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall and Brandon Aiyuk or Demarcus Robinson or Kendrick Bourne would be much more difficult to defend than any personnel grouping with Juszczyk in it.

And when they want to run the ball, the 49ers can use two-tight-end formations with Kittle and Tonges, because defenses will have to respect their ability to catch passes, which means they won't be able to sell out to stop the run like they do when Juszczyk is on the field.

It will be fun to watch the 49ers' offense evolve for the better.

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