The San Francisco 49ers surprisingly took wide receiver Ricky Pearsall late in the first round of the 2024 draft (31st overall), but now it looks like a good bit of planning. Years of trade rumors around Deebo Samuel came to fruition. While his contract was taken care of last offseason, Brandon Aiyuk is working his way back from a torn ACL (along with being somewhere on the trade block).
In some sense, the Niners are thin at wide receiver and it's a sneaky need heading into the draft. But in another sense, Samuel being gone and Aiyuk at least not being healthy until midseason opens up big opportunity for others.
Jauan Jennings is fairly obvious, but Pearsall should be obvious in that vein too.
Pearsall's rookie season was derailed early when he was shot during a robbery attempt. He missed the first six games of last season, but the 49ers wasted no time getting him involved (15 targets over his first three games, with at least a 64-percent snap share twice).
After a downturn (five total targets from Weeks 11 through 14), Pearsall had an upswing that culminated in 14 catches (on 18 targets) for 210 yards and two touchdowns over the final two games of the season. Savvy fantasy football managers put a pin that development for 2025, paired with indications Pearsall plans to put in extra work with Brock Purdy this offseason.
Ricky Pearsall is a clear-cut 2025 fantasy breakout candidate
Matt Brandon of Sports Illustrated has a fresh list of five fantasy breakout candidates for 2025, and Pearsall made the cut:
"Pearsall endured a rocky rookie campaign, but circumstances suggest a breakout could be imminent in 2025. His final two games of the 2024 season showcased his potential—posting 141 yards and a touchdown against Detroit in Week 17, followed by a 69-yard, one-touchdown performance in Week 18 against Arizona."
"Opportunity is key.... Pearsall has a chance to emerge as a go-to option alongside George Kittle and Jauan Jennings. If Samuel exits, Pearsall should be on every fantasy manager’s radar as an explosive mid-round selection.
Over those last two games last season, Pearsall had a 21.9-percent target share. According to Fantasy Pros, that would've been a top-25 target share for the full season among wide receivers. His yards per route run (2.62, according to Pro Football Focus) and first-read target share (30.4 percent, per Fantasy Pros) were also high-end over that two-game sample.
As much as Average Draft Position (ADP) is relevant in late-March, Fantasy Pros' Draft Wizard (0.5-point PPR, 12 teams) has Pearsall at WR45 and pick No. 102 overall. In plainer terms, he is being drafted as a WR4 and a ninth-round pick in 12-team, 0.5-point PPR leagues.
Pearsall's ADP will interesting to track between now and the teeth of fantasy draft season. But as long as the 49ers don't make a high-end wide receiver addition in the real-life draft, it's very likely he'll remain undervalued relative to his upside.