With Brandon Aiyuk possibly leaving the San Francisco 49ers soon, many thought rookie Ricky Pearsall would become a key player for the offense.
However, he’s had a nagging shoulder injury for much of training camp that has limited his usage. This didn’t come as a huge surprise to the team because they knew about the problem when they drafted him and just hoped it wouldn’t follow him to the NFL.
“The other component of that is Pearsall, who looked amazing the like 1.5 practices he was actually healthy since they drafted him,” San Francisco Chronicle 49ers columnist Mike Silver said on KNBR. “But has a shoulder thing that is now recurring and worrying over the long haul, something they knew about before they drafted him and were hoping wouldn’t be a thing.”
𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗦: The #49ers knew about Ricky Persall’s shoulder issue when they drafted him, but had hoped it wouldn’t turn into a problem, per @MikeSilver
“The other component of that is Pearsall, who looked amazing the like 1.5 practices he was actually healthy since they… pic.twitter.com/yj88ZKALqE
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) August 23, 2024
Of course, this came as a huge shock to many fans because teams usually avoid players who are known to have any type of lingering injury from college that’s similar to what Pearsall is dealing with.
“John Lynch would be working commentary somewhere if he didn’t accidentally stumble on some success from taking Brock Purdy in the 7th round. The moves he’s made in the early rounds of the draft have been abysmal,” said one commenter.
Pearsall was already seen as a reach when drafted with the No. 31 pick in the draft, and it seems to be getting worse.
Ricky Pearsall Was A Controversial First Round Pick
Going into the 2024 Draft, Pearsall was definitely a very talented receiver that a lot of teams would have loved to get, but the San Francisco 49ers drafted him with the 31st pick was certainly surprising.
“To many, the Pearsall pick was viewed as a bit of a reach and left some scratching their heads figuring out why a team that already employs Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings would use its first opening-round pick in three years on a wideout,” Nick Wagoner of ESPN wrote.
Of course, though, if Pearsall can mesh nicely with the dominant 49ers offense, the selection would have certainly been worth it.
