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Can Ricky Pearsall Start in the Slot for the 49ers?

The 49ers didn't give him a first-round grade, but they still made him a first-round pick, so he's expected to produce right away.

Grant Cohn

Florida Gators wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (1) is pressured out of bounds by Georgia Bulldogs
Florida Gators wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (1) is pressured out of bounds by Georgia Bulldogs / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA
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Ricky Pearsall is in a tough spot.

The 49ers didn't give him a first-round grade, but they still made him a first-round pick, so he's expected to produce right away. And if he doesn't, he'll hear about it, because some wide receivers drafted in Rounds 2, 3 and 4 will put up big numbers. It happens every year.

Unless the 49ers trade Brandon Aiyuk or Deebo Samuel, which seems increasingly unlikely every day, Pearsall's best shot to get on the field will be as the 49ers slot receiver, a position he played extensively in college. But to become the slot receiver, he'll have to take that job from Jauan Jennings, who's a proven veteran.

Jennings has 78 catches and 50 first downs in three seasons with the 49ers. He's one of their best chain-movers and possession receivers. He's also an elite blocker, which is why the 49ers like him so much. This offseason he was a restricted free agent and the 49ers gave him a second-round tender, which is more expensive than an original-round tender, and they gave it to him because they don't want to lose him just yet. He's a key part of their third-down offense and he was terrific in the playoffs.

Next year, Jennings will be an unrestricted free agent. So if the 49ers bench him for Pearsall, they'll take money out of Jennings' pocket. I don't think the 49ers want to do that. I think they want to use him as much as possible in what probably will be his final season with the team.

Pearsall will have to wait his turn.

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Grant Cohn

GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.