Among the issues facing the 49ers during their 4-12 season in 2018 was a lack of progression from some second-year players who showed signs of promise as rookies.

NFL sophomores such as cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, safety Adrian Colbert, quarterback C.J. Beathard, linebacker Reuben Foster and others didn’t improve the way San Francisco expected – or needed – last fall. The dreaded second-year slump took its toll.

This year, Kyle Shanahan is doing all he can to ensure that doesn’t happen to a key member of his offense, receiver Dante Pettis, who was among a handful of starters to play in the preseason opener and had snaps in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s exhibition against the Chiefs.

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By playing Pettis extensively in the preseason, Shanahan is sending a message to the second-year wideout that he’s been echoing throughout August, even though Pettis is expected to be a starter whom many consider a breakout candidate.

“He’s still trying to earn a role on this team and he’s still trying to show us what he’s capable of doing consistently,” Shanahan said.

Pettis, who missed practice Monday with a minor groin injury, this summer looked better in training camp than he did as a rookie. But Shanahan has made it clear he wants more. Shanahan, after all, is admittedly hard on his receivers. It’s his former position and the one he scouts most before free agency and the draft each offseason. Pettis was a player Shanahan hand picked in the second-round in 2018.

“It didn’t shock me or anything,” Pettis said Monday when asked about his coach’s public critique. “I know I need to keep playing better.”

Pettis said Shanahan is looking for more “urgency,” which is similar to what the coach said about the second-year players who struggled the year prior.

“It’s kind of like running routes like more deliberately,” Pettis said. “Because I have such like a long, smooth stride, that a lot of times it looks like I’m not going hard. Or the way I run my routes might be different than someone who has shorter strides and stuff. So shortening up my strides is one way to do that because it sets things up better.”

Tight end George Kittle showed the urgency Shanahan was talking about in his second season. Kittle reworked his body last offseason to become more flexible and durable, remaining far healthier over a 16-game schedule than his rookie year. It was a big reason he set an NFL record for tight ends with 1,377 receiving yards.

Kittle understands where Shanahan is coming from regarding Pettis and offered advice to the receiver.

“I think the worst thing you can do is just tell guys, ‘Hey, you’re the starter,’” Kittle told The Bee. “I remember (Richard) Sherman said something about that. ‘If you give a guy a starting job, he’s never going to look over shoulder.’ He’s like, ‘Hey, I’ve cemented myself.’”

The public has heard Shanahan’s comments about Pettis this summer and has taken them as a sign of the worst. After all, the 49ers have struggled to draft and develop receivers in recent seasons and 2012 first-round bust A.J. Jenkins remains in fresh in the mind of the fan base.

But Kittle doesn’t seem worried about Pettis or the fact Shanahan has publicly asked him to show more on the practice field and in games.

“(Shanahan’s) saying the same things to me, he’s saying the same things to Jimmy (Garoppolo), he’s saying the same things to Joe Staley,” Kittle said. “I think the second-year slump is a real thing. Because you have such a long rookie year that you don’t know how to transition to the NFL. It’s a little different. Just seeing how guys respond to it, that’s what coach Shanahan likes to do. He likes to give guys opportunities – he likes to challenge guys and see how they respond.”

A knee injury last season cost Pettis four games. He had 27 receptions for 467 yards (17.3 average) and scored five touchdowns – hardly an impressive rookie season on paper.

But the 49ers are optimistic about what Pettis showed during a four-game stretch starting in late November when he logged 17 catches, 338 yards and four touchdowns. Paced out to a 16-game season, those numbers equate to 68 receptions, 1,352 yards and 16 scores.

Pettis, of course, has a long way to go before reaching that plateau.

“I just told him to just take advantage of every single play that you’re in,” Kittle said, “whether it’s a pass play where you have a vertical on and you have a zero percent chance of getting the ball, run it like you’re the only guy on the field. If it’s a run play, try and go knock someone over and if you mess up, just do it 100 miles an hour. Because that’s what coach likes to see on the film. As long as you’re going 100 percent, it’s usually hard to get mad at you.”



