Ricky Pearsall

San Francisco 49ers·#1

Pos WRHt 6'1"Wt 190 lbExp 1 yrCollege Florida

Model Score

64.4 MODEL

Resting on limited playing time

How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →

Season Stats · 9 games

3665th

Rec

52857th

Rec Yds

0103rd

Rec TD

5374th

Targets

58.724th

Yds/Gm

9.847th

Fantasy PPG

Advanced Metrics EPA & Next Gen Stats

1.44712th

EPA / target

2.2 yd104th

Avg separation

6.6 yd

Avg cushion

-0.698th

YAC over exp

70.8%

Catch %

STM Take

The 2025 #60 (tier 8) finish is the second straight bottom-third ranking for a 1st-round pick, which is not the rookie-contract trajectory teams want. The Wks 15 and 17 spikes (15.6 and 13.5 PPR) plus the Wk 3 19.7 show the talent is real, but the floor weeks (Wk 11 1, Wk 12 2.8, Wk 13 3.4) confirm the role has not stabilized behind Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel. The 2026 trajectory depends on either an Aiyuk/Deebo health setback or his own role expansion.

Pearsall came out of Florida (after transferring from Arizona State) as San Francisco's 1st-round pick (31st overall) in 2024 after a 65-catch, 965-yard senior season. He was shot in the chest during an attempted robbery in San Francisco on August 31, 2024, less than two weeks before the season opener, and missed the first six weeks of his rookie year. His 2024 finish (tier 8 #77) reflected the disrupted rookie season, and the 2025 #60 (tier 8) finish came with a starter-grade Wk 15 and Wk 17 (15.6 and 13.5 PPR) sandwiching a four-week stretch of single-digit production.

Strengths

Florida senior 65-catch, 965-yard line plus 1st-round draft slot establishes a real ceiling profile. Wk 3 2025's 19.7 PPR confirms starter-grade single-game output is available.
Survived a chest gunshot wound in August 2024 and was back on the field within six weeks. The mental and physical resilience is real.

Concerns

Two straight tier 8 finishes (#77 and #60) for a 1st-round pick is concerning. Four sub-4 PPR games in his 2025 sample (1, 2.8, 3.4, 8.6) is the typical WR3 floor pattern.
Behind Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel he is permanently a WR3 in the rotation. Aiyuk's contract expiration and Deebo's annual trade-rumor cycle are the only paths to a target share expansion.

What to watch: Whether the 49ers move on from Deebo Samuel or Brandon Aiyuk in 2026, because Pearsall's target ceiling depends on one of those slots opening up.