When San Francisco 49ers safety Jaquiski Tartt lines up during Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he'll be staring down a couple of pretty good tight ends on the opposing offense in O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate. That might be intimidating for any defensive back, but it's not for Tartt.
The 49ers' fifth-year defender has a secret weapon in the way he prepared this offseason. Tartt gets to practice regularly against one of the best in the league — Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle.
Tartt joined KNBR on Tuesday and explained how Kittle has helped prepare him for upcoming matchups.
"I'm going against Kittle every time (in practice)," Tartt told Greg Papa and John Lund. "Every one-on-one, I'm going against Kittle. Kittle's one of the best tight ends in the league. He has a little wiggle to him, and speed, strength, all that. Kittle, he's been getting me better.
"For me, I always feel like I don't care who lines up across from me, they're not catching the ball on me, so it doesn't really matter who it is. I expect to have a dominant year on tight ends, especially when I'm in man."
Kittle is entering his third NFL season. He caught 88 passes for 1,377 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 2018, earning his first trip to the Pro Bowl. Kittle's receiving yards total set a new NFL single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end.
Kittle, who has a team-first mentality, was asked during an NFL Network interview this past weekend how he can carry his 2018 performance over into the new season.
"One of the biggest things is we can win more games, and then definitely improve in the red zone, and score more touchdowns," Kittle told MJ Acosta and James Jones. "That's my goal. I'd like to have more than five touchdowns."
Tartt went on to boast about his performances against Kittle in practices.
"Kittle be giving me great looks," Tartt continued. "One-on-ones, I'm like 3-and-8 against Kittle. In [team drills], I've been dominating Kittle in teams, though. He hasn't caught a ball on me in teams. I can at least brag about that."
San Francisco made Tartt a second-round draft pick out of Samford in 2015. The safety finished last season with 42 combined tackles, two passes defensed, and an interception through eight starts before a fractured forearm ended his season for the second year in a row. Tartt has registered 223 combined tackles, 3.5 sacks, 11 passes defensed, three interceptions, and a forced fumble in four NFL seasons.
You can listen to the entire interview with Tartt below.