For the first time since they drafted Trey Lance third overall, the San Francisco 49ers made a first-round selection. They had a number of a high-profile positions worth addressing. Offensive tackle? Corner? Defensive tackle?
Would they trade Brandon Aiyuk or Deebo Samuel to get up in the first round?
Nope. They didn't ship a receiver off. They added one, in Florida's Ricky Pearsall, a supremely athletic, skilled receiver who can line up just about anywhere for the 49ers.
Was it a surprise with Iowa defensive back Cooper DeJean and Illinois defensive tackle Jer'Zhan Newton both available? Perhaps. But DeJean has some fit concerns, and Newton is a defensive tackle coming off a broken foot. Big men and foot injuries are a treacherous pairing.
Pearsall, meanwhile, won't be starting for the 49ers with Aiyuk and Samuel. But he gives the 49ers leverage, and allows them to feel comfortable if they cut or trade Samuel and lose Jauan Jennings next offseason.
The Florida product spent his first three years at Arizona State (spending one of them with Aiyuk and Jayden Daniels) before transferring to Florida for his final two years. He'll be 24 at the start of September, but that belies how polished of a product he is.
He had 65 catches for 985 yards and 4 TDs his final year at Florida, along with the greatest catch of the year, bar none. Genuinely.
Pearsall will likely be a rotational player in his first year, but he is already a more polished pure receiver than Samuel is, and has exponentially more athleticism and versatility than Jauan Jennings. He also returned 11 punts for 126 yards last year, and that's a position where Trent Taylor is the team's de facto punt returner.
Simply put, Pearsall is a very talent receiver who will be able to contribute from the get-go. It's fair to have concerns about value, but there was a clear drop-off in receivers coming, as evidenced by Xavier Legette's selection immediately after. The other receivers in that second tier, Adonai Mitchell and Keon Coleman, had far more concerns, as did Ladd McConkey, who showed a serious lack of size and athleticism.
PICK GRADE: A
This gets an A grade for its boldness and for taking, in my view, the best player, and most sure thing available. The 49ers didn't overspend on Kingsley Suamataia or Roger Rosengarten at tackle. They didn't take a meh corner, or a defensive tackle (of which there are a plethora).
They took a damn good wide receiver who gives them leverage and ease at a position where there is so much in flux. I do not expect them to trade Samuel tomorrow, but now they happily could, and save nearly $7 million in cap space (with a $21.7 million dead cap hit) if they so chose. They have options, the likeliest of which is to just hold onto an improved arsenal for this year.
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