Dante Pettis showing Giants the promise he had in college

Matt Lubick always told Dante Pettis to make sure he was the attacker — to get defenders on their heels, to not waste time at the line of scrimmage, to eliminate their angles and make them less reactive — and during the University of Washington’s 2017 game against Oregon, that’s exactly what he did.

Pettis had already broken an NCAA record with his ninth career punt-return touchdown the same day, weaving through the Oregon defense and wind-milling his arm to celebrate after crossing the goal line. But this time, with the Huskies on offense, Pettis lined up on the left side of the formation, scanned the Oregon defense and waited.

Jake Browning lofted a ball 47 yards toward the end zone — trusting his top receiver, who finished as a first-team All-Pac-12 and All-American for more than just his return prowess — as Pettis gained one step on his Oregon defender. Then, he secured a second, positioning his strides to match up with Browning’s pass as he crossed into the end zone.

Pettis excelled as both a receiver and returner across four seasons with the Huskies, but the electrifying punt returns haven’t translated to the Giants — his second NFL team — though injuries created the potential for his role to expand. But the “smooth” receiving instincts that former Washington wide receivers coach Brent Pease saw at the college level have finally started to show through in the NFL. In the past two games, he’s caught 10 of 16 targets for 87 yards and a touchdown, emerging as a new constant amid a receiving depth chart with constant availability questions.

“He didn’t really have a weakness,” said Lubick, Washington’s co-offensive coordinator in 2017 and now the offensive coordinator at Nebraska. “He was good at every route, and we tried to design the majority of our pass concepts where he was the primary target.”

Pettis’ explosive first step made it difficult for defensive backs in press coverage to not get beat on deep balls, too. He’d turn defenders one way, then quickly pivot toward another. Lubick taught Pettis the importance of the phrase “low, tight and skinny,” he said — staying low through the contact zone so a defender couldn’t jam him, staying tight so there weren’t angles to cut his route off and staying skinny so defenders couldn’t thrust their hands into Pettis’ chest and reroute him from the line of scrimmage.

He finished with 63 catches for 761 yards and seven touchdowns his senior season, giving him 2,256 total yards in four seasons. He started working on footwork and catching range with Pease in 2014, while continuing to work on his releases against man-defense coverage. That created the receiving reputation that Giants wideout Darius Slayton called “wiggly” earlier in the season. Pease agreed — compiling yards after the catch was always a strength, keyed by a “natural cut on the run” that most players don’t have, he said.

“I always wanted to continue returning, but I knew receiver is like, that’s what I am,” Pettis said. “I’m a wide receiver, and I just am good at returning, too.”