The San Fransisco 49ers shocked the NFL world and pi--ed their fans off by selecting a wide receiver with the No. 31 pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Not Adonai Mitchell, Troy Franklin or Keon Coleman—San Fransisco selected Ricky Pearsall.
Who Ricky Pearsall ?
Pearsall played five seasons of college football, three for Arizona State, and the final two seasons with the Florida Gators. He posted 159 catches for 2,420 yards and 14 touchdowns. Though productive, Pearsall was never considered amongst the best receivers when compared to his peers. He was never named to an all-conference team, never caught more than 5 touchdowns in a given season nor did he register 1,000 yards of production, that is even when playing with players like Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels and former No. 4 overall pick Anthony Richardson.
Pearsall does shine in athletic ability and has an absolutely ridiculous catch radius as shown by his Relative Athletic Score (RAS).
What Kind of Impact Can Pearsall Have?
The tough thing for Pearsall is the 49ers have a star-studded group of wide receivers, with the likes of Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and Juwan Jennings. So there has to be an odd man out. This might signal a trade for Samuel or Aiyuk is imminent, which certainly is not something 49er fans will be happy about. Ultimately his impact is going to depend on if someone is on their way out, or the expectation for his production will be low. He is certainly not recommended for your fantasy draft. Not only is Pearsall not considered an elite wide receiver in this class, but his selection makes it all but inevitable the 49ers will be ridding themselves of one of their All-Pro players.
Fans Reactions to the Pick
To say 49ers fans were upset would be an understatement as one fan stated, “Fire Lynch” on X formerly known as twitter. “Not this (explicit) again!” wrote another. If Pearsall does not live up to the expectations general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan placed on his shoulders it could get ugly fast in the bay. With more explosive and productive players available like Xavier Legette, Franklin, Coleman and Malachi Corley, this could go down as one of the biggest blunders in recent memory.
It is certainly one thing to take a huge hack and swing on a quarterback, but a wide receiver, when the team has no need for one? Lynch also has a history of draft miscues, most notably trading the farm to move up to number No. 3 overall and selecting Trey Lance, who started only a few games before being shipped off to the Dallas Cowboys for a left over burrito from Taco Bell.
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