San Francisco 49ers: Why Dante Pettis bounces back in 2020

After an impressive second half to his rookie season, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Dante Pettis fell out of favor in 2019. Yet there’s a good chance he bounces back this upcoming year.

There’s no way around it: San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Dante Pettis had a year to forget in 2020.

Entering the season, it wasn’t hard to envision Pettis being a lock for a key role in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense. Then during training camp, Shanahan called out his second-year pro amid what was turning into an underachieving offseason campaign. Speaking with some insiders at camp, Niner Noise learned Pettis’ efforts were “bad,” as the reports went.

Whatever was going on translated over into the regular season, too. Pettis went from a contender for a starting job to an afterthought by the year’s end, even being inactive for Super Bowl LIV.

So why would someone predict Pettis bounces back in 2020?

There are a number of reasons, actually. Shanahan even admitted second-year players can go through notable regressions in year two.

Here’s what the head coach said of Pettis, per The Athletic’s Matt Barrows (h/t Niners Nation):

"He took a documented step back in the second year, which I’ve been around a lot of players who have done that. The players I’ve been around, which has been a ton, they go one way or the other: they keep being like that and usually filter out, or it’s a wake-up call for them. They come back, and you can see it in April, that ‘this guy treated January to April so much different than the year before,’ and it usually changes their career."

Second-year drop off is a reality. The 2017 Defensive Rookie of the Year, New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore, regressed a bit his second season, at least according to Pro Football Focus.

And while Lattimore’s slight regression was nowhere near as bad as that of Pettis, it begs to mention.

Instead, one can look at the upside Pettis at least provided his rookie year. Over his final five games in 2018, with quarterback Nick Mullens throwing to him, Pettis averaged nearly 72 receiving yards per game and had four touchdowns during that span.

If you were to average that out over a 16-game regular season, Pettis would have managed nearly 1,150 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.

There was far more beyond just the numbers, too. When he came out of college, Pettis’ footwork was among the best in the NFL, evidenced by this 2018 red-zone touchdown against the Denver Broncos:

That kind of separation doesn’t just go away in a single season.

Pettis, who just turned 24 years old, isn’t exactly far removed from that notable finish to his rookie season. Combine that with the 49ers’ uncertainty at wide receiver heading into the offseason, and one can see why Shanahan will be willing to give the former second-round NFL Draft choice every chance possible to secure a much more prominent role this upcoming year.

Ultimately, however, it’ll be up to Pettis to decide whether or not he’ll fit into San Francisco’s long-term plans. Being a Round 2 pickup, the Niners are willing to be a bit more patient than with, let’s say, a day-three draft pick or an undrafted free agent.

The key, though, will be Pettis realizing he’s on a short leash.

And for the purpose of this prediction, he both realizes it and capitalizes on it between now and the regular season.