Can Dante inferno really continue??

For some, failure fuels the fire. 49ers WR Dante Pettis has been accustomed to failure as of late. Dennis Waitley once said, "Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end."

49ers WR Dante Pettis has become accustomed to failure as of late. Though Pettis' team was incredibly successful in 2019, Pettis' contributions towards that success were mostly unnoticeable. Once a highly touted 2nd-round draft pick, Pettis found himself slotted to be a starting WR for the 49ers heading into the 2019 season. Rewind the clock to August 2019 and the seeds of doubt began to settle around Pettis during training camp. Arriving to camp out of shape and struggling to make an impact, Pettis' poor preseason performance seemed to confirm some of the speculation surrounding his commitment to football. As the season progressed, even working in an inexperienced WR room, Pettis found himself quickly sliding down the depth chart. On October 22nd, 2019 the 49ers traded two draft picks to Denver for veteran WR Emmanuel Sanders. This move signified head coach Kyle Shanahan's loss of hope for Pettis in 2019. "He's had his opportunities. The more he doesn't take advantage of his opportunities, the less he opportunities he gets," said Shanahan. Pettis caught his final pass of 2019 just 9 days later on October 31st, leaving his 2019 total at 11 catches for 109 yards and 2 TDs.

As poor as Pettis performed in 2019, that year represents half of his NFL career. The other half of his career consisted of a very promising 2018 rookie season. In his initial season, Pettis recorded a 68.5 grade according to Pro Football Focus, over 12 points higher than his 2019 grade of 56.4. Appearing in 12 games, Pettis caught 27 passes for 467 yards and 5 TDs that year, flashing moments of brilliance while adapting to 3 different quarterbacks passing him the ball (Garoppolo 3 starts, Beathard 5 starts, Mullens 8 starts). A 4-game stretch late in the season in which Pettis tallied 17 receptions for 338 yards and 4 touchdowns (11/25/18-12/16/8) was the brightest spot of his 49ers career. Pettis exhibited a distinct ability to separate from defensive backs with quick footwork and legitimate route running ability. Hopes were high for Pettis towards the end of 2018 and Forbes.com cited Pettis as one of the lone bright spots of what felt like a lost 2018 season.