When the San Francisco 49ers drafted Ricky Pearsall out of the University of Florida with their first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, it was a fairly surprising move on the surface.
Deeper analysis showed that one of the main reasons the Niners lost the Super Bowl that February to the Kansas City Chiefs was due to the inability of their wide receivers to get open against man coverage. Pearsall had shown an affinity for doing just that in college, and the thinking was focused on how he'd be a good addition alongside zone beaters like George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, and Brandon Aiyuk.
Aiyuk was also up for a contract extension that offseason, and things were already awkward between the two sides. They wouldn't improve until Aug. 29, when it was reported that team and player had come together on an extension.
You know the story from there. Aiyuk got off to a slow start to the season, tore his ACL and MCL against the Chiefs, and has yet to return from said injury. Things boiled over, his contract was voided due to disciplinary issues, and he's since been added to the Reserve/Left Squad list, ending his season, and likely his Niners career.
And so, any dreams San Francisco had of its two first-round receivers playing next to each other faded away, and immediately ramped up the pressure for Pearsall.
There were some rumbles during that 2024 draft that the 49ers reached for the receiver late in Round 1, but his skills haven't been an issue.
The problem, instead, has been availability.
No, it wasn't Pearsall's fault that he suffered a gunshot wound before his rookie season, causing him to miss six games of that year. But he was already nursing an injury throughout training camp, and while he managed to stay healthy for the final 11 games, the campaign was stunted.
This year, he started camp out well before succumbing to another injury, and then a PCL issue caused him to miss six more games this year.
His return was also slow this time around, although he's coming off his best game of the season with six catches for 96 yards against Tennessee on Sunday. Unfortunately, his status for Monday night's game against the Colts is uncertain after aggravating the PCL again.
But the fact of the matter is that Pearsall has to play like a first-round wide receiver and stay healthy now that Aiyuk is out of the picture.
He may have been drafted with the thinking that he could be a No. 2 or 1B type, but given the current state of the 49ers' wide receiver room, Pearsall must step up and be the top guy.