Ricky Pearsall: The Must-Have Breakout Wide Receiver In 2025 Fantasy Football Drafts
In this story:
Ricky Pearsall flashed his potential in limited action as a rookie, but injuries kept him from making a consistent fantasy impact. With Brandon Aiyuk sidelined and Jauan Jennings also battling injuries, Pearsall now has a golden opportunity to establish himself as a key weapon in the 49ers’ passing game.
Ricky Pearsall, San Francisco 49ers
Over his last three seasons at Arizona State and Florida, Pearsall caught 146 of his 217 targets for 2,206 yards and 13 touchdowns with some value in the run game (17/219). He gained 15.1 yards per catch, which is surprising for a player expected to work out of the slot in the NFL. His best output came over five games (5/103/1, 5/148/1, 6/123/1, 10/166/1, and 7/103) in 2022 and 2023.
The 49ers saw enough in his game to draft Pearsall 31st overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. At the combine, he ran a 4.41 40-yard dash while showcasing his strength (17 reps of 225 lbs.). His route running looks exceptional coming to San Francisco while offering winning hands. He must improve his release vs. physical defenders while potentially being a beast against zone coverage.
Pearsall opened his rookie season with six missed games due to a shoulder injury. He only had 17 catches for 190 yards and one touchdown on 28 targets. His season ended with two exciting outcomes (8/147/1 and 6/69/1 on 18 targets). The 49ers gave him WR3 and WR1 snaps in these two matchups.
Ricky Pearsall 2025 Fantasy Football Outlook, Projections, Ranking
The fantasy market has high hopes for Pearsall in his second year with the 49ers, based on his 41st wide receiver ranking this draft season. To reach par for his current price point, he needs to post a 65/800/5 season.
With Brandon Aiyuk (recovering from an ACL knee injury, expected to miss six games) and Jauan Jennings (calf) battling injuries, Pearsall lines up for a bump in targets by default. He missed some time this summer with a hamstring issue, showing injury risk in his profile. Pearsall is the 36th wide receiver drafted in mid-August, with some sharp high-stakes drafters expecting a big year. His talent screams upside, but he still has to stay upright for 17 games before earning the fantasy trust card.
Pearsall is currently the WR39 in our 2025 PPR Rankings and the WR34 in Non-PPR formats.
More Fantasy Sports On SI News:
With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.
Follow Shawn__Childs