An NFL analyst for ESPN took some surprising shots at the San Francisco 49ers’ decision-making and choice to use their top 2024 draft pick on wide receiver Ricky Pearsall.
The 49ers surprised many draft experts when they handed in their first draft card in April and used the 31st overall pick on Florida Gators star wide receiver Ricky Pearsall. While the pass-catching prospect is a respected talent the team already had a pair of star receivers in Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel.
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However, the organization is in the midst of a contract dispute with Aiyuk and he or Samuel could be playing elsewhere in 2025. With that in mind, it seemed somewhat understandable for San Francisco to take Pearsall as part of a strategy to get an affordable replacement for Samuel or Aiyuk.
But ESPN NFL analyst Seth Walder still believes the San Francisco 49ers made the wrong decision. In a column grading each team’s offseason, he ranked drafting Pearsall as the move he most disliked from them in the 2024 offseason.
“Though a fine prospect, that was probably the largest non-QB reach of the first round based on expectations of where players would be drafted,” Walder wrote.
It will be up to the 49ers, their coaching staff, and Ricky Pearsall to prove the doubters wrong. With the team being a serious title challenger it would be viewed as a major miss if they used their top pick on a player that did not make an impact in a potential title run.
However, since he will be playing alongside a pair of gifted pass catchers, Pearsall will have a great opportunity to shine in year one for the 49ers.
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