49ers finally get some good news on draft pick who has yet to do much this offseason

The San Francisco 49ers, motivated by the trade situation surrounding Brandon Aiyuk and their own lack of wide receiver depth, chose to use the No. 31 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall. So far, that pick hasn't looked amazing due to the bumps in the road Pearsall has struggled with.

After essentially playing with a clean bill of health during his time at Arizona State and Florida, Pearsall has been running into injury after injury since making the jump to the professional level. Fourth-round pick Jacob Cowing has had a more productive preseason than Pearsall.

Pearsall's shoulder has been his main health concern in the last few weeks and months; luckily for all involved, it appears as though the 49ers are close to getting him back to full strength. This would clearly be an immense help for an offense that needs all the wide receiver help they can get.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed that Pearsall will return to practice after his shoulder injury. All signs point to Pearsall being active for San Francisco's Week 1 debut against Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets on Monday Night Football.

49ers rookie WR Ricky Pearsall returns to practice after injury

Pearsall caught 65 balls for 965 yards and four touchdowns during his final college season. While he is an older player, San Francisco was attracted to his Spider Man-like hands ans ability to get open at the line of scrimmage, which is essential to play receiver in a Shanahan offense.

Pearsall will likely begin the year as the No. 3 receiver, fighting with fellow rookie Cowing, and veteran Jauan Jennings for extra snaps. If the Aiyuk trade ends up becoming a reality, Pearsall could be thrust into a starting role alongside Deebo Samuel during his debut season.

While this could be a very big adjustment for a player who had one collegiate season out of five in which he topped 700 yards receiving, his rise up the draft board after some dominant workouts gives San Francisco the confidence they need to plug him in alongside Brock Purdy and let him cook.

Pearsall has never been an injury-riddled player in the past, so his recent bumps and bruises should not be viewed as something overly concerning as of right now.