Cam Inman of Bay Area News Group joined the latest installment of the No Huddle Podcast to talk San Francisco 49ers football with Al Sacco and Zain Naqvi. The trio discusses training camp, the team's quarterbacks (apparently, there's some guy named Jimmy Garoppolo who is supposed to be pretty good), the running backs, DeForest Buckner being used on the edge, Arik Armstead's latest injury, Reuben Foster, and much more.
Also part of the discussion was rookie wide receiver Dante Pettis, who has been turning some heads during his first NFL training camp.
"This guy is super talented," says Inman.
The 49ers beat writer believes that Pettis could eventually be a replacement for the almost 32-year-old Pierre Garçon. Some assumed that Pettis, who was a special teams standout in college, would be utilized in at the slot receiver spot but the 49ers have been using him a lot on the outside during practices.
"I don't know if it's this year (that he replaces Garçon)," says Inman. "I doubt it. Outside possibility of it. But he's not necessarily going to take over Trent Taylor's spot at slot. I mean, he could, and Trent hasn't been fully practicing yet because of the back issue. But Pettis, at some point, is going to become a starting wide receiver because he looks so talented."
Garçon brought veteran stability to the receiving corps in head coach Kyle Shanahan's first year with the 49ers. He was halfway to a 1,000-yard season last year before a neck injury sidelined him during Week 8. Garçon still has a lot to offer and could be productive in 2018, but Inman has his eye on Pettis as the future.
"I like [Pettis] a lot," says Inman. "He is a very different kind of guy. He dyed his hair blue. He has a — Jimmy Garoppolo describes it as a wiggle, which makes him different when he comes off the line and kind of freaks out some DBs. He's really neat to watch."
You can listen to the latest No Huddle Podcast episode below, from our dedicated podcast page, on iTunes, Google Play, or SoundCloud.
