LAS VEGAS — Tommy Mellott and Junior Bergen ran up against each other in the most literal sense Saturday at Allegiant Stadium.
With just over 14 minutes remaining in their NFL preseason matchup, the San Francisco 49ers' Bergen returned a kickoff 25 yards before he was tackled by the Las Vegas Raiders' Mellott, who made a solo stop at the 29 yard line.
Watch Saturday's game action and hear from Mellott and Bergen afterward:
It was a garden variety special teams play, but it was also an encounter between a pair of 2025 NFL draft picks from Montana who were meeting on the field as part of a game with plenty of Treasure State flavor. The 49ers won the game, 22-19
Mellott, from Butte, was selected in the sixth round of April's draft by the Raiders out of Montana State, where he fashioned a fabled career as a quarterback. Mellott is trying to transition to the NFL as a wide receiver.
Bergen, from Billings, was taken in the seventh round by the 49ers out of Montana, where he had a record-setting and clutch career as a kick returner. Bergen has been San Francisco's primary return man so far this preseason.
Both are fighting for roster spots, and Saturday's game was another opportunity for Mellott and Bergen to get noticed.
Aside from his tackle of Bergen, Mellott stood out when he returned the opening kickoff of the second half 42 yards. It was Mellott's first explosive moment in an NFL uniform — in a preseason game last week against the Seahawks, Mellott had one catch for minus-2 yards.
Bergen, meanwhile, continued to show reliability as an NFL return man. Bergen had 63 yards on three kickoff returns, an average of 21.0 yards per attempt. He fielded one punt but that netted zero yards. Bergen also caught one pass for 1 yard.
Last week in a preseason game against the Broncos, Bergen had two kickoff returns for 40 yards and one punt return for 28 yards. He was targeted once and didn't catch a pass. Through two preseason games, Bergen is averaging 20.6 yards per kickoff return and 14 yards per punt return.
The Raiders will play their final preseason game on Aug. 23 against the Cardinals, while the 49ers will wrap up that same day against the Chargers.
The NFL's final cutdown date for teams to reduce their active rosters to 53 players is Aug. 26.
Other Montana connections in Saturday's game included Griz hall of famer and Butte High alum Colt Anderson, who is in his first year as an assistant special teams coach with the 49ers. Also, Helena native Tom McMahon is the Raiders' special teams coach.
Former Bobcats defensive tackle Sebastian Valdez is also fighting for a roster spot with the 49ers. He had one tackle and one QB hit against the Raiders on Saturday.
