San Francisco will rely on a number of its passersby to perform with the recent string wounded among the receiving corps. Deebo Samuel suffered a stress fracture to his foot in June that could threaten his return to the start of the season. Richie James Jr. is expected to miss time in nursing a wrist injury has suffered this offseason, and the 49ers will likely be without Jalen Hurd, who has a torn ACL earlier this week.
The 49ers added free agent talent with the signings of veteran receivers Jaron Brown, JJ Nelson and Tavon Austin to add to San Francisco’s own receivers who include Kendrick Bourne, Trent Taylor and Brandon Aiyuk to name a few. Dante Pettis is another name in search of redemption, hoping to place himself on the depth chart.
After a promising finish to his rookie campaign, the receiver made an unfair return in year 2. Recording 27 receptions for 467 yards in 2018, Pettis saw his goals decrease last season from 45 to 24. The wideout saw not a single goal after Week 10, the year ended with just 11 receptions for 109 yards and two touchdowns.
Now, a season away, the wideout hopes to meet the expectations of head coach Kyle Shanahan. With the focus on improvement in the offseasons, the head coach was equally envious of seeing the improvements of the third season.
“I was very excited with Dante,” Shanahan said on Thursday. “The first day I saw him when he came back, we were not allowed to see them for a few days because all the COVID tests and stuff were. He was one of the guys I looked forward to the most. When he came in, I saw him immediately and we had to talk and you could tell his thoughts exactly what his body was like, that he spent time away from us, and did everything he could to put himself in ‘ to take the position to create this team and to be as successful as he can be. “
Pettis had his best day of camp on Tuesday after exploding with five catches during full-team drills from all three of the 49ers quarterbacks. Three of his catches came over the middle, including a jumping grip on a pass from Jimmy Garoppolo. While Pettis intends to restore his rapport with the San Francisco quarterback, Garoppolo has already taken note of the widow’s progress in camp.
“He came with it and it’s very encouraging – just the physicality he plays with (and) the competitiveness he brings,” Garoppolo said. “You love to watch that and it’s just one of those things you have to keep rolling.”
Pettis will have to continue to string along these shows if he intends to stand out from under a crowded reception room. Once a week in training camp, he appears to be on the right foot. With two more weeks to cement his name at the top of the depth map, the 49ers head coach is already pleased with the early turnaround he has seen from the receiver.
“I’m very proud of Dante so far and I think it turned out that way,” Shanahan said. “I think he had his best practice two days ago since he’s been here. I know he got a lot of balls and a lot of chances, but it was not just that. It was his behavior, the way he played, the aggression and his routes and everything. I’m very happy with Dante so far. “
