The San Francisco 49ers wrapped up their pair of joint practices with the Houston Texans, and they were a success. We got to see the 49ers players take on a different team and different schemes, but more specifically, we saw some one-on-one competitions that don’t normally happen outside of game action.
Beyond just the competitions, 49ers players had a chance to pick the brains of some quality players both on the other side of the ball and on their own. Following Thursday’s practice, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins had some praise to pass on to 49ers rookie Dante Pettis.
DeAndre Hopkins just slapped hands with Dante Pettis and gave him some love.
— Joe Fann (@Joe_Fann) August 16, 2018
“I like your game, man. I like your game,” Hopkins said. #respect
It’s no surprise Pettis was fired up for that kind of compliment. It’s a couple practices, but clearly the rookie impressed the veteran.
It’s too early to say where Pettis’ career might take him, but his first training camp has been a success. He had a drop against the Dallas Cowboys last week, but he also had a catch on a play where he showed how filthy his route-running can be. He got wide open for a 53-yard reception, and it came courtesy of a solid route, and excellent use of his eyes.
Pettis actually fooled the corner with his lean and then eyes. As soon as he turned to the outside like he was going to look at the QB the corner turned and got fooled. pic.twitter.com/lWieCNZfNz
— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) August 14, 2018
The catch came early in the third quarter, after the starters were out of the game, but it’s still excellent work by the rookie receiver. He’s had a chance to face off against an inconsistent Texans secondary, and I suspect we’ll see plenty of him on Saturday a little earlier in the game. He’s shown a lot through 3+ weeks of training camp and preseason action, so we’ll see if he can build on it the final two weeks.