This guy is going to work in the NFL. To me, Washington Huskies senior wide receiver and return specialist Dante Pettis reminds me a lot of former Kansas State Wildcats extraordinaire and current wide receiver Tyler Lockett for the Seattle Seahawks. If Pettis is half of Lockett as an NFL player, then he’s worth taking in the middle rounds of this draft.
Pettis was part of the Pac-12 Championship team in Seattle in 2016. So what if the Huskies got crushed by the Alabama Crimson Tide? That’s just part of the narrative that comes from playing college football’s most dominant dynasty of my lifetime. Regardless, Pettis could fit in wonderfully as a No. 3 receiver and return man for the Silver and Black.
Gruden will like this kid because he is a gamer. Pettis found ways to make plays all four years he was on Chris Petersen’s Washington team. At 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, he has the size to potentially be a blazer at the NFL Scouting Combine. Fortunately for him, he will be more than a glorified track star like his former teammate John Ross, who might be undergoing a position change after his first year with the Cincinnati Bengals.
In four years in Seattle, Pettis had 163 catches for 2,256 yards and 24 receiving touchdowns. As a return man, Pettis had 91 career returns for 1,274 yards and nine touchdowns. No, he will not be a superstar in this Oakland offense, but he could be the high-end gadget player Gruden will love to design plays for in space.