49ers TE Jake Tonges Fantasy Waiver-Wire Advice After George Kittle's Hamstring Injury

The opening week of the 2025 NFL season hasn't even wrapped up yet, but savvy fantasy football managers are already weighing up their waiver-wire targets.

San Francisco 49ers tight end Jake Tonges might be one of those players.

The 26-year-old had three catches for 15 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 17-13 win over the Seattle Seahawks. His four-yard grab with 1:34 in the fourth quarter was the decisive score.

"I caught it and looked down at my feet to make sure I was in bounds," Tonges told reporters of his late-game heroics. "And I kind of looked around for some flags. And it was silent, you know, because we're on the road. I think it was Russell Gage — someone was like, 'You scored! You scored!'"

The Niners needed Tonges to step up because George Kittle suffered a hamstring injury in the first half and will now miss multiple weeks, head coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday.

Shanahan praised Tonges and others who helped to fill the void left by Kittle.

"Losing Kittle in that game was big for us," the coach said. "He was a huge part of the game plan as you guys saw earlier. [We had] to move some guys around, and those guys stepped up big, man, especially at the end, the game winner. [I'm] real proud of him."

▶️Full 49ers-Seahawks Recap

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From a fantasy perspective, tight ends are pretty interchangeable unless you have one of the elite standouts. Kittle was one of three at the position to average at least 15 points per week in NFL.com leagues in 2024. Only eight hit double digits.

Kittle, meanwhile, has battled minor injuries throughout the last few years. This hamstring injury may not be the last time he's sidelined.

Those two factors make Tonges at least worth considering for managers who aren't all that confident in their current options at tight end.

Tonges didn't catch a single NFL pass before Sunday, and he had only been targeted once since entering the league in 2022. There's a good chance this is the last time he's notable within any sort of fantasy context. Should he quickly turn into a pumpkin, fantasy managers shouldn't have much trouble finding a suitable replacement.

Tonges is a low-cost, high-upside play where you're betting on him being the biggest beneficiary while Kittle is unavailable.