A healthy Dante Pettis put on a show during his rookie season. Injuries limited him to only 12 games, but his time on the field was impressive enough to land him at No. 8 on Doug Farrar’s list of the 11 best NFL slot receivers.

Pettis’ ability to work out of the slot and outside is part of why he’s so valuable in an offense that requires a diverse skill set from receivers. He caught 27 balls for 467 yards and five touchdowns overall last season, but his work from the slot stood out to Farrar:

Like many of the top wide receivers in the NFL, Adams was dominant against press coverage, posting 10.6 yards per target. Quarterbacks had a 120.7 passer rating when targeting Adams against press. The 2019 position rankings series continues with wide receivers, including our top 10 ranking, what makes a great receiver, breakout candidates for 2019, the Chiefs without Tyreek Hill and much more.

Especially in the slot, Pettis had some impressive moments, and he projects well as a primary receiver in multiple roles. In 2018, he caught 12 passes on 16 targets from the slot for 234 yards and two touchdowns. So, you have to project optimal production when it comes to Pettis, but it’s easy to do.

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While he won’t line up a ton in the slot in 2019 with a few other receivers on the roster capable of filling that role, his high-level production in that area of the field point to all the things that make him a good receiver. His ability to quickly separate at the line of scrimmage make him deadly in the confined spaces a slot receiver works in, and he has enough speed to run away from defenders and turn short throws into big plays.

It stands to reason that Pettis notches a 1,000 yards in Year 2 as long as he stays on the field. A pair of knee injuries last year are the biggest red flag for the 23-year-old. On the other hand, he admittedly took awhile to get in the flow of the offense, and his productivity between Weeks 8 and 12 are a sign that he’s only going to get better. He hauled in 20 balls for 359 yards and four touchdowns in that four week stretch.

With a running back type build, Laviska Shenault Jr. Led the way offensively for the Colorado Buffaloes. At 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, the 21-year-old junior receiver was used in various ways (screens, jet sweeps, wildcat, etc.) to get into the endzone and often makes the first man miss or breaks the tackle to get there (even returning a punt in 2019). Ranking the top 10 NFL wide receivers for 2020 The Detroit Lions enjoyed a pretty decent season from their wide receivers in 2019. Kenny Golladay earned himself a Pro Bowl nod, leading the NFL. In the 2019 NFL season, per Sports Info Solutions, there were 19,933 total quarterback dropbacks. Against those dropbacks, NFL defenses put four defensive backs on the field just 18% of the time (3,579 snaps), while nickel defense (with five defensive backs) ruled the league by far with 59% of all snaps (11,780).

Top 10 Best Slot Receivers In The Nfl Players

With the arrow pointing up on the former second-round pick, it’s not an inconceivable notion that Pettis winds up among the NFL’s best receivers overall after 2019, and not just out of the slot.