Bucky Brooks isn't the only one who believes San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Dante Pettis is capable of a big rookie season. The NFL Network analyst named Pettis as a rookie receiver who can achieve a 1,000-yard season in 2018.
JJ Zachariason of numberFire, one of many analytics sites that attempts to predict fantasy sports production, recently named Pettis among his post-draft fantasy football rookie rankings. The ranking factors in the situation in which each player is placed and not just his talent level. Pettis will be part of an offense that will feature quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo throwing the football. After a glimpse of Garoppolo's potential within head coach Kyle Shanahan's system last year, analysts and fans are predicting big things from the quarterback in 2018.
Pettis ranked at No. 15 within numberFire's top-20 list. Below is what Zachariason had to say about the receiver's fantasy football potential with the 49ers:
"Pierre Garçon can be a possession guy, Marquise Goodwin is a field-stretcher, and Trent Taylor can be the slot receiver. Where does Dante Pettis fit in? He didn't play many snaps in the slot in college, per Pro Football Focus, which means he may need to supplant Garçon or Goodwin to get consistent work this year. Garçon is coming off a neck injury, so maybe that's the spot for him, but the path to targets is a little convoluted. The hope is that things develop well for Year 2, and the 49ers don't add much more at the receiver position. Sometimes you've got to trust the draft capital spent (they traded up for Pettis, too) and the coach who made the selection when evaluating a player's potential."
Pettis, who was the fourth receiver selected in last month's draft, is Zachariason's seventh-ranked rookie wide receiver. Both Anthony Miller of the Chicago Bears and Christian Kirk of the Arizona Cardinals, who were each selected within seven spots after Pettis, ranked higher than the 49ers receiver (No. 2 and No. 3 among rookie receivers, respectively). Pettis was previously unranked within numberFire's rookie fantasy football rankings.
The 49ers made Pettis a second-round draft pick (No. 44 overall) out of Washington. Since his junior year in 2016, he recorded 116 receptions for 1,583 yards with 22 touchdowns. As a returner on special teams, Pettis returned an FBS-record nine punts for touchdowns over his collegiate career while averaging 14.2 yards per return. Four of the nine scores came during his senior year.
Following his selection by the 49ers, Pettis was asked how his play as a receiver translates to the NFL.
"I'm hoping to do a lot of different things," he said. "Whether that's taking a deep post, taking the top off of the defense or getting a little screen and breaking a few tackles, making a big play that way or just moving the chains on third down. You know, there's a lot of different things that I feel I can do that I can translate into the NFL."
Zachariason also named 49ers rookie receiver Richie James as a later-round player to target.
H/T to Patrick Tulini for the find.
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