One of the regular features of the pre-draft process is commentary by anonymous sources. Scouts, coaches, and executives have plenty to say about draft prospects, but more often than not the juiciest details come via anonymous comments.
Milwaukee NFL columnist Bob McGinn runs a pre-draft column every year featuring all sorts of random comments from anonymous scouts. They love giving opinions without attaching their name, and McGinn does a great job compiling the quotations.
I thought that for each San Francisco 49ers pick that showed up in McGinn’s column, I’d pull out what the scouts had to say. Some of the comments are going to be truthful, while it’s possible others were scouts looking to get a guy down to them, or push him up to get someone else down to them. Whatever the case, it gives us opinions from people who do this for a living, with slightly greater repercussions than your average draft prognosticator.
We took a look at what scouts had to say about Mike McGlinchey, and today we move on to the 49ers second round pick, Washington wide receiver Dante Pettis. McGinn polled 14 scouts, asking them to name their top five wide receivers in order. Pettis finished seventh in the polling, ahead of UCLA’s Jordan Lasley.
Below are three quotations, one from a McGinn source, one told to NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, and one told to The Athletic’s John Middlekauff. We don’t know the context for why these people made the comments they did, but it does offer a little something to chew on as it relates to Pettis.
McGinn scout: “He’s a better kick returner than he is a receiver,” said one scout. “He is quick, quicker than fast. They didn’t run him deep that much. He doesn’t excite you as a receiver. He excites you as a returner. He played the slot there. Inconsistent ball security.”
NFC team West Coast scout: “Really good with his routes. He was better last year when he had John Ross on the other side getting so much attention. He’s not incredibly fast which is why his punt return production is so impressive. He has a great feel for it.”
NFL general manager: “Dante Pettis was the best return man in the draft. Some say he went high, but I wasn’t shocked at all to see where he went.”