This is what we’ve been waiting for, fantasy football enthusiasts. The NFL Draft is under way, and we finally get to see where the rookie prospects are going to launch their professional careers. And NFL Draft landing spots allow us to start to zero in on fantasy football and dynasty rookie draft pick values. Here, we break down WR Ricky Pearsall and his fit with the San Francisco 49ers.
Throughout the draft, we’ll take a closer look at fantasy-relevant prospects, giving you an overview of their strengths and weaknesses, and assessing their fantasy value in both redraft and dynasty formats.
Let’s dig in.
- 2024 Dynasty Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- Dynasty Rookie Draft Simulator
- DBro’s Dynasty Rookie Draft Primers
- 2024 NFL Draft Guide
Fantasy Football Rookie Draft Outlook
Fitz’s Fantasy Football Outlook
The San Francisco 49ers have selected Ricky Pearsall of Florida with the 31st pick of the first round, pumping up Pearsall’s fantasy value.
After catching 65 passes for 964 yards and four touchdowns in 12 games as a senior at Florida, Pearsall boosted his draft stock with excellent showings at the Senior Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine. The 6-1, 189-pound Pearsall ran a 4.41 at the combine and had a 42-inch vertical jump. He posted a Relative Athletic Score of 9.90, 32nd-best among all wide receivers to have posted RAS scores since 1987, according to RAS creator Kent Lee Platte.
Pearsall is a crisp route-runner with ultra-reliable hands. He had only five drops over his final three college seasons while recording 146 receptions. Pearsall also has excellent ball skills and is laser-focused on making the catch even if it means taking a big hit.
As talented as Pearsall was, his numbers in his final three college season weren’t exactly eye-popping. He never recorded a 1,000-yard season in college, and over his final three years he had 13 TD catches in 38 games.
The extent to which Pearsall contributes to the 49ers as a rookie largely depends on whether San Francisco keeps reportedly disgruntled WR Brandon Aiyuk or trades him away. If Aiyuk stays, Pearsall likely spends the 2024 season as a fourth wheel in the San Francisco passing game behind Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle (not to mention RB Christian McCaffrey). If Aiyuk goes, Pearsall will play a more robust snap share and have an easier path to targets. Pearsall has the versatility to play inside or outside, and I would expect him to primarily man the slot for the Niners in 2024.
In dynasty, I have Pearsall ranked WR6 among rookies and WR32 overall. He’s likely to go somewhere in the back half of the first round in 1QB rookie drafts, and in the early second round in superflex drafts.
Pearsall’s predraft FantasyPros Expert Consensus ranking was WR78 in half-point PPR formats, and he had a predraft Underdog best-ball ADP of WR80. I have Pearsall ranked WR70 for redraft but will bump him up at least 10 spots if the 49ers part ways with Aiyuk.
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Thor’s NFL Draft Profile & Player Comp
Ricky Pearsall | Florida
6010/189 | RAS: 9.91
Comp: Adam Thielen
In the last three seasons, Ricky Pearsall has functioned as the WR1 for Jayden Daniels (at Arizona State), and the WR1 for Anthony Richardson and Graham Mertz at Florida. He then embarked upon a dominant pre-draft process, with an awesome Senior Bowl showing and an eye-popping NFL Combine.
Pearsall has an advanced feel for route-running and coverage designs. He will modify his path to get into open grass against zone and flick unpredictable and unsettling tempo changes at defenders in man like a toddler in control of your car’s volume knob. Pearsall marries head/shoulder deeks with sudden cuts at the peak of his stem to coax false steps. Deliberate footwork in and out of breaks. On extended plays, he’ll throw the plan out the window and freelance himself open.
Pearsall is blessed with truly exceptional hands (86.8 PFF hands grade in 2023). He spears balls outside his frame with regularity. Extremely reliable with anything inside his frame. Multiple one-handed highlight reel catches on campus. His catch against Charlotte – if you’ve seen it, you’re watching it in your head as I type – is one of the greatest any of us have ever seen in college football.
That catch was an extreme example of Pearsall’s Professor X-esque concentration – he’ll take the shot every time to complete a catch. He shows good spatial awareness and body control near the sidelines and in the end zone.
Pearsall showed the versatility to swap interchangeably between the slot and boundary in college. When we spoke at the Senior Bowl, Pearsall told me the NFL had mostly spoken to him about the slot. But this was before that event had ended. And a full month before Pearsall put the NFL on notice with his huge performance in Indianapolis.
Pearsall’s athletic profile and tape suggest he could be used in the same interchangeable way in the NFL. If used on the boundary, as was the case in college, he’ll need to be adjusted pre-snap to free him from press coverage.
Check out more NFL Draft profiles and player comps from Thor in our 2024 NFL Draft Guide
Dynasty Rookie Draft Rankings
Our analysts provide their latest rookie draft rankings below. And also check out our expert consensus dynasty rookie draft rankings!
More Dynasty Rookie Draft Advice
- DBro’s Dynasty Rookie Draft Primers
- DBro’s Top 50 Rankings & Player Notes
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