SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Whether it's his hair, his hobbies, his gait or his athletic talent, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Dante Pettis has grown accustomed to standing out. Some call it weird, some call it different, but whatever the case, Pettis' unique approach to both football and life have already made him one of the most intriguing young players on the Niners' roster.
"Dante is a cool guy," fullback Kyle Juszczyk said. "[He's] definitely a different personality, one that you don't always see in every locker room out of every guy.”
In the 90-man mass of humanity that comes with training camp rosters, it can be easy to get lost in the shuffle. But Pettis isn't hard to find at 49ers camp. If you can't identify him by his No. 18 jersey, his shaggy, curly blue hair should help do the trick. If that's not enough, Pettis can easily be found by looking for the guy who seems to contort his body like an acrobat to gain separation from defenders.
That Pettis is seen as a little bit different isn't exactly news to the 49ers or to him. In addition to the hair color and unique movement, Pettis also has love for big cats, photography, art and is a voracious reader who counts F. Scott Fitzgerald as his favorite author. In most walks of life, none of those things would be considered strange, but in the NFL they can be twisted into some sort of a drawback.
It's something Pettis didn't realize until the run up to the 2018 NFL draft. After a successful career at the University of Washington in which Pettis posted big numbers as a receiver and punt returner and was a consensus All-American in 2017, he arrived at the 2018 NFL scouting combine with a warning from his agent that he would be getting plenty of questions about his outside interests. The insinuation being was that his hobbies were somehow a detriment to his football ability.
"… I was like, 'Wait, what, just because I like to read or I like to take pictures, that means I don't like football or something?'" Pettis said. "That was the first time, but I knew that if a GM, owner, head coach, whatever, really liked me and they really understood football then they would know it wouldn't matter what I like to do outside of football. That's not any different than someone liking to go fishing or whatever."
In reality, Pettis long ago grew accustomed to the idea that he might not be like much of his football-playing brethren. The son of Gary Pettis, who played center field in the majors for 11 years and won five gold gloves, Dante Pettis was always a natural athlete. But it wasn't until he was a seventh grader in Orange County, California, that he first discovered he was a little different.
While watching some film of him running against others, he noticed his legs tended to splay away from his body while his feet turn to the inside when he ran. Even at that young age, Pettis quickly understood that he couldn't control how he ran. So he embraced it. Pettis' distinctive movement skills became one of his calling cards and he quickly figured out he could use it to his advantage.
Coach Kyle Shanahan refers to it as "making guys miss with your feet." In other words, Pettis' movements are so unorthodox that those trying to tackle him are often thrown off by how his feet might be moving one direction but his body is quickly headed in another. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh likens Pettis' movements to those of a basketball player, noting that Pettis can easily "get his feet outside his frame" and compares Pettis' moves on the field to a Tim Hardaway-like killer crossover dribble that can get a defender off balance.
Though Pettis has solid speed, he's not a burner like teammate Marquise Goodwin. Instead, he relies on that deception to get open, something that has worked so far in the preseason and has Pettis poised to contribute as a receiver and punt returner during his rookie season.
It's something quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo noticed soon after the Niners moved up in the second round to draft Pettis at No. 44 overall in this year's draft.
"He has some long limbs, long arms, long legs and it helps him create space with defenders," Garoppolo said. "He has a unique ability, I call it wiggle …That's all you need."
Away from the field, Pettis makes no apologies for what he likes and is quick to point out that those interests can help him find common ground with teammates. For example, Pettis' love of photography is shared by Goodwin, giving them something other than football to discuss when not on the field or in a meeting room. Pettis even maintains a second Instagram account for his pictures under the tag @christopher_robin8.
Pettis' interest in cats stems from a biology class he took in his sophomore year at Junipero Serra (Calif.) Catholic High when he did an assignment on leopards. Pettis was instantly taken with felines and wouldn't mind one day combining his love of big cats and photography by taking wildlife photos.
As for the blue hair, Pettis first began toying with different colors when he was at the University of Washington. For stretches of last season, Pettis' hair featured purple streaks intended to represent the Huskies' primary color. Before his first NFL training camp, Pettis opted for the blue color that now makes him stand out when helmets are off.
As for the rest, Shanahan sees that as nothing but positive as Pettis transitions to the NFL.
"I think guys accept people who are themselves and they're not trying to be someone they're not," Shanahan said. "What's really cool about Dante, yeah, he's got the blue hair, yeah he's artistic, I don't know. That's who he is. He doesn't care what you think. He's not doing it for someone else. That's who he is and that's all you've got to be in this league. Just be yourself and guys respect you. He's the same person every day and he doesn't care what people think about him. I think people respect him a lot for that."