BILLINGS — Dynamic special teams players are hard to find in the NFL, but Junior Bergen is making his case with the San Francisco 49ers.
In Saturday’s 22-19 preseason win over the Las Vegas Raiders, the Billings Senior graduate returned three kickoffs for 63 yards, the best total return day for any player on the field.
“Yeah, my teammates blocked it up well. I just tried to put the ball where it needed to go and tried to make a play,” Bergen told MTN Sports afterward on the field.
Watch Bergen in action vs. the Raiders and hear his postgame interview:
In his Week 1 preseason debut against the Denver Broncos, Bergen served up two kick returns for 40 yards, plus a dazzling 28-yard punt return while faking out defenders.
Montana fans are used to seeing that as Bergen set the FCS record for punt returns for touchdowns with eight during his Grizzly career. His dangerous speed and athleticism led the 49ers to select him in the seventh round of this year’s NFL draft.
And what was the moment like achieving the NFL dream when he was first issued his 49ers gear?
“That was a surreal feeling, for sure. I just thank God every day for it, I’m super blessed to be in the position I’m in and super grateful,” he said.
Bergen is also competing at wide receiver while learning from, among others, 49ers standout veteran Brandon Aiyuk.
“He sits right in front of me in meetings, so I’m asking him questions and just trying to pick his brain,” Bergen said.
In Saturday’s game, Bergen sought daylight on a kick return when Butte native and former Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott wrapped him up for a solo tackle.
“I didn’t even see him,” Bergen recalled with a smile. “I looked up at the screen and I saw him celebrating, so I figured it was him. But I had no clue who tackled me … I couldn’t see anybody.”
Rewinding to his high school days in 2018, Bergen was asked if he remembered another memorable moment against Mellott, when the Senior High DB deflected and intercepted a Mellott pass at Daylis Stadium.
“First play of the game, I believe,” Bergen recalled with a wide smile.
“But yeah, I remember the play. Nothing more than that, I guess,” he added unassumingly.
As echoes of their past rivalries resound, it is a treat watching Bergen and Mellott continue to push — and root — for each other currently as NFL rookies.
