After trading away Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders and placing Brandon Aiyuk on reserve/PUP and Jacob Cowing on injured reserve, the San Francisco 49ers are entering the season with a lot of questions at wide receiver.
San Francisco has just five active wide receivers on their roster heading into Week 1, including Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings, Jordan Watkins, Russell Gage and Skyy Moore. However, with Jennings and Watkins dealing with injuries, the 49ers need someone to step up and be a true top target for Brock Purdy this season.
While Moore is a two-time Super Bowl champion, and Gage appeared to have a connection with Purdy in training camp, Pearsall should be atop the depth chart at the position for the team’s season opener against the Seattle Seahawks. In fact, ESPN’s Ben Solak recently identified Pearsall as the team’s X factor for the 2025 season.
“On one hand, it feels as if any wideout can succeed in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. On the other hand, the 49ers’ wide receiver room hasn’t been this thin in a while,” Solak wrote. “With Deebo Samuel now on the Commanders and Brandon Aiyuk not expected to return until Week 6 after his complex right knee injury, San Francisco desperately needs Pearsall to immediately shoulder a bigger portion of the offensive pie.”
San Francisco took Pearsall in the first round (No. 31 overall) of the 2024 NFL draft, following a collegiate career at Arizona State (2019-21) and Florida (2022-23) that saw him catch 159 passes for 2,420 yards and 14 touchdowns in 55 games.
Unfortunately, Pearsall’s rookie season didn’t exactly go the way he wanted, as he missed six weeks to start the year due to a gunshot wound he suffered from an attempted robbery in late August. He played in the team’s final 11 games, catching 31 passes for 400 yards and three touchdowns.
The 24-year-old saw limited opportunities in the preseason, appearing in just one game and recording three receptions for 42 yards in the team’s opening drive against the Las Vegas Raiders, which set up Jake Moody for a 30-yard field goal. If that first drive was any indication of how the season will go, Purdy will be looking for Pearsall early and often in 2025.
If that connection is as strong as it looked, the 49ers’ offense may be able to survive until Aiyuk returns from ACL, and then it might really take off.
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