The San Francisco 49ers have done a good job of building up their skill positions around Jimmy Garoppolo, including the drafting of Dante Pettis. The young receiver from Washington showed a lot of promise as a rookie and has the potential to be a top option for Garoppolo moving forward.
Jimmy G missed almost all of last year after tearing an ACL just a few weeks into the season. He's looking to bounce back strong in 2019, and will be counting on Pettis to be one of his top options. Speaking to Vinnie Irye of Sporting News recently, Garoppolo sounded very high on Pettis.
“Dante is something else. His physical ability is different from most receivers, and different from any receiver I've been with. How he moves, it's very long and gangly, but he makes it work. He has enough explosiveness and power to get out of cuts when it doesn't look like he can,” Garoppolo said.
“I'm thrilled about it. It makes my job easier for someone to win one-on-one opportunities like that. He's a tremendous talent and keeps working, grinding to make big things happen.”
Pettis has always been praised for his route-running ability, and the 49ers picked him earlier than most people expected when they drafted him 44th overall last year. Pettis impressed in limited action last year, and vindicated the 49ers' pick with the upside that he flashed.
In only 12 games, he put up 467 yards on just 27 catches, a whopping 17.3 yards per reception. He showed plenty of big play ability, and added five touchdowns. He was also playing with backup quarterbacks most of the season, and having Garoppolo back should do wonders for his progression.
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