49ers training camp: 3 best stories from first two weeks
By Peter Panacy
No. 1: 49ers’ Dante Pettis’ Own Revenge Tour
At the end of last season, two-year wide receiver Dante Pettis was looking as if he’d be yet another disappointing flameout after essentially disappearing from Kyle Shanahan’s playbook in the second half of 2019 and into the playoffs.
So it was natural to assume Pettis, a 2018 second-round pick, was potentially in danger of missing out on the 53-man roster.
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Despite a slow start over the first couple of days, Pettis has since surged back and then some, flashing a different kind of mindset than the one which plagued him in camp a year ago at this time. He’s been making efforts to go over the middle for catches, which isn’t something he did last season, and it’s pretty apparent he’s making strides to achieve that “sense of urgency” Shanahan wanted him to get during the offseason.
Granted, Pettis still has a long way to go. While he might have a leg up over the multitude of free-agent wide receivers the Niners have brought aboard in recent weeks, Pettis is still competing against the likes of Brandon Aiyuk and even Deebo Samuel when the latter returns from injury.
San Francisco has more invested now in those two wideouts, meaning Pettis’ role is yet to be determined.
dark. Next. Updated 49ers roster bubble watch after one week of camp
But for him to come out with noticeable vigor in training camp, one can feel pretty good he’ll be able to offer Shanahan and the Niners offense much more in 2020 than he did a year ago.