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Is 49ers WR Ricky Pearsall a No. 1 Wide Receiver?

Pearsall seems like he has the skill set to be a quality complementary receiver right away. But the 49ers didn't draft him to be a second banana.
Grant Cohn|
May 10, 2024; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (14) runs drills during the 49ers rookie minicamp at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. Mandatory Credit: Robert Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports
May 10, 2024; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (14) runs drills during the 49ers rookie minicamp at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. Mandatory Credit: Robert Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports | Robert Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports

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Ricky Pearsall performed well in 49ers OTAs and minicamp. He ran crisp routes and caught lots of passes. Does that mean the first-round pick will be a no. 1 wide receiver in the NFL one day?

It's important to remember that the players don't wear pads during OTAs or minicamp. They wear helmets and shirts and shorts and they can't be particularly physical. In addition, Pearsall was the only player on the team wearing the blue non-contact jersey, which means the other players aren't supposed to touch him because he's slightly injured. Finally, while he caught lots of passes, he mostly beat Samuel Womack and Ambry Thomas. He hasn't beaten a starting corner yet.

Pearsall seems like he has the skill set to be a quality complementary receiver right away. But the 49ers didn't draft him to be a second banana. They drafted him in Round 1, which means they see him as the future focal point of the passing game. That's currently Brandon Aiyuk, and he can beat Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir one-on-one -- I've seen him do it in practice the past few years.

Aiyuk is a true no. 1 wide receiver. Not only does he run crisp routes, but he also has the strength to beat press man-to-man coverage. He has a combination of finesse and physicality which makes him special, a combination Pearsall may not have. And that's why Aiyuk was a first-round pick.

Pearsall probably should have been a second- or third-round pick.

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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.

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