2024 was a rollercoaster year for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall. San Francisco took Pearsall in the first round (No. 31 overall) of the 2024 NFL draft, and he was set to be the team’s third or fourth receiver on the depth chart as a rookie before he was shot in the chest right before the season started.
After a long recovery, Pearsall made his NFL debut in the team’s Week 7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He went on to have 31 receptions for 400 yards and three touchdowns in San Francisco’s final 11 games of the year.
Now, entering his second season in the NFL, Pearsall is dealing with a hamstring injury that’s limited his involvement during training camp. Still, when he returns, he’s expected to be the team’s top wideout until Brandon Aiyuk returns from his ACL rehab.
On Friday, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was asked about developing chemistry with Pearsall at his media availability, and the quarterback took the time to reflect on Pearsall’s rookie season.
“In our offense, it’s usually steps, timing, you’re breaking at a certain angle, and last year Ricky was raw with his talent,” Purdy said. “He had it, but he also had to learn our system, our timing, and where I’m throwing the ball. He’s got a lot of shimmy, which is great. We need that, specifically against man coverage, to create separation and we love that. But, I think that there were sometimes when he had to learn that he couldn’t take a couple more steps and then break out. I need you there now. I need to get the ball out now. We had a couple of those moments and there were times where he took it a little deeper and then broke open. He was like, ‘dude, I was open.’ I said in the timing of the play, I needed it quicker.
“So, we had moments like that, and that’s part of getting to the NFL, learning the system, a quarterback and a receiver talking and getting to know each other. I feel like it has gotten better for sure over the last year or so. I think towards the end of the last season, you saw Ricky come out of his shell. He was playing within our system and timing, so he is going to continue to learn who he is as a receiver and what his strengths are and I’m going to continue to learn with him and that excites me. So, I think we’ve gotten some pretty good work so far and we’re just going to continue to chip away at it.”
Obviously, Pearsall and Purdy need to be on the field together to work on their chemistry, so the sooner the wideout is back to fully participating in practice, the better. If Pearsall can be the player that everyone thought he could be coming out of Florida, the 49ers’ offense may not miss a beat after moving on from 2021 Pro Bowler Deebo Samuel this offseason.
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