Two Players Who Might Threaten Rams' Ambitions

The first is San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall. Pearsall had a quiet year of excellent film, displaying the feet and hands that propelled him from being a late day two pick to a first round selection.

Smith opened up his report talking about Pearsall.

"Ricky Pearsall is poised for a big Year 2: After missing the start of his rookie campaign, Pearsall showed plenty of promise," wrote Smith. "And now the 49ers‘ offense has one less mouth to feed after Deebo Samuel's trade to Washington."

Smith added on, touching on his 2024 production.

"Pearsall missed the first six weeks of the season after recovering from a gunshot wound to the chest just before Week 1. He had a productive second half of the season after his return, catching 31 of 44 targets for 400 yards and three touchdowns."

"The 49ers traded wide receiver Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders in March, creating a path for Pearsall to step into a bigger role in 2025. Samuel graded out no lower than 70.9 in his six years with the team, so San Francisco will be counting on Pearsall to produce in a big way moving forward."

Brandon Aiyuk remains out as well, leaving Pearsall as the undisputed WR2 on the team. Considering Jauan Jennings is on a contract year, it may be financially advantageous to feed Pearsall the ball.

Could Arizona Cardinals' defender Darius Robinson become the Hassan Reddick of head coach Jonathan Gannon's defense?

"Robinson was the 27th overall pick in last year’s draft but was limited to just six games (184 snaps) due to a nagging calf injury and a bereavement period away from the team. He struggled to make much of an impact when on the field, generating just two pressures on 120 pass-rushing snaps."

"Admittedly, the path for Robinson to earn playing time may be less clear than others on this list. The Cardinals signed future Hall-of-Famer Calais Campbell (the highest-graded interior run defender in 2024) and Dalvin Tomlinson (67.4 PFF overall grade) and spent their 2025 first-round pick on Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen. They also bolstered their edge unit by signing free agent Josh Sweat after his Super Bowl run with the Philadelphia Eagles."

"It’s hard to believe Robinson won’t have every opportunity to earn snaps with his play during camp, just one year removed from being a first-round pick. With that said, it’s fair to assume that his leash may be shorter, given the team's newfound depth along the defensive line."

Robinson is joined by a grossly undervalued defensive line consisting of Josh Sweat, Calais Campbell, Walter Nolen, Dalvin Tomlinson, and others.