SANTA CLARA — Ricky Pearsall said he was “shocked” yet “super excited” when the 49ers phoned to draft him Thursday night, adding him to a wide receiver corps that is established yet in flux.
Among those welcoming him to that unit: Brandon Aiyuk, whose final season at Arizona State coincided with Pearsall’s freshman year there in 2019.
“I just got off the phone with him,” Pearsall told reporters in a video conference call. “He was congratulating me and telling me over and over,’ You’re a first-rounder, soak it up.’ Because I put a lot of work in since we last ran routes together. He watched me from afar. It’ll be really good to team back up with him and get active.”
Yes, Aiyuk remains on the 49ers’ roster, though neither general manager John Lynch nor coach Kyle Shanahan ruled out a potential trade. Lynch reiterated the 49ers’ desire to extend Aiyuk, who’s slated to play on his fifth-year team option at $14 million, or half the market rate for a top-tier receiver.
Aiyuk contacted Lynch and Shanahan in a group text — to commend them on Pearsall’s selection.
“(Fire emoji) pick, can’t lie,” Aiyuk texted, which Lynch read to the media at the post-draft podium.
“Great pick, he won’t let you down,” read the next text Lynch got from Herm Edwards, his old position coach with the Tampa Bay Bucs who also coached both Aiyuk and Pearsall at Arizona State.
Pearsall figures to best serve as a gritty slot receiver on a corps that, for now, is led by Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, the recently re-signed Trent Taylor, and 2023 rookie Ronnie Bell. While there’s speculation that Samuel also could be targeted in a trade, Jennings could, as well, considering he’s yet to sign his $4.5 million tender and can no longer sign an offer sheet elsewhere as a restricted free agent.
Pearsall flourished as Florida’s leading receiver the past two seasons after spending three years at Arizona State.
“He does a lot of things will that we covet at that position,” general manager John Lynch said. “And we believe we have a real strong group there and we wanted to add another player. Ricky is a very real versatile player and adds punt return value that we think will come in handy.”
The drafted started with only offensive players selected in the first 14 picks. The 49ers’ offensive choice came without the same pressing concerns that are engulfing their NFL challengers.
After all, the Niners secured their franchise quarterback two years ago in Brock Purdy, albeit with the 262nd and final pick. Plus, the 49ers have every other offensive starter under contract from last season, when they spawned the second-most yards and third-most points en route to the Super Bowl, where they lost 25-22 in overtime to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Pearsall (6-foot-1, 189 pounds) joins a franchise that is coming off a Super Bowl overtime loss, but one still poised to return to that championship stage Feb. 9, when Super Bowl LIX is played in New Orleans. Over the past five seasons, the 49ers have reached the Super Bowl twice and the NFC Championship Game four times.
Pearsall is a Phoenix native who grew up in the suburb of Chandler, near Purdy’s hometown of Queen Creek. Pearsall turns 24 on Sept. 9, the Monday of the NFL’s opening weekend; Purdy is 24. Yes, they crossed paths in high school — Pearsall at Corona del Sol in Tempe, Purdy at Perry in Gilbert.
“He put 70 on my team. I remember him a lot,” Pearsall said of Purdy’s four-touchdown performance as a senior in a 70-24 rout in 2017. “He threw a lot into the end zone. I’m excited to play with him.”
“He reminds me of myself, just he’s a lot faster, has much better hands, can jump, and does a lot better,” Shanahan quipped of Pearsall.
Pearsall’s contact courage won over the 49ers, especially Shanahan, who complimented Pearsall’s versatility, his ability to separate, his speed (4.4-second speed in the 40-yard dash), his intelligence and his “gym rat” persona.
“There’s not one play you see him turn something down. You see him go over the middle. He’s doing everything he can to catch that ball and not worry about anything else,” Shanahan said. “He’s not taking the easy way out. He makes guys tackle and he’s not looking for a place to fall down. And when he doesn’t have the ball, he plays just as hard.”
Those are precisely the vast traits Shanahan — a former Duke and Texas wide receiver — has demanded out of his players since he arrived as 49ers coach in 2017.
Lynch concurred, saying: “He’s equipped to take those hits. It’s almost like he likes the physicality. He enjoys run blocking. Our kind of style.”
Pearsall could fill the 49ers’ punt return role, vacated by Ray-Ray McCloud’s departure in free agency to Atlanta. Pearsall averaged 10.2 yards on 15 returns the past two years for Florida. Taylor and Bell are other logical candidates to return punts. The NFL’s new kickoff-return rules also add intrigue to that job.
The 49ers drew calls to potentially trade down, but they saw that as a negligible tradeoff for what was being offered.
This draft saw seven wide receivers go in the first round, and three were taken in the top 10: Marvin Harrison Jr. (Arizona Cardinals, No. 4 overall), Malik Nabers (New York Giants, No. 6), and Rome Odunze (Chicago Bears, No. 9). Brian Thomas went at No. 23 to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Xavier Worthy went at No. 28 to the Chiefs, and the Carolina Panthers traded up to select Xavier Legette at No. 32, one spot after the 49ers opted for Pearsall.
“It’s a premium position in our league right now. The ball’s being thrown a lot,” Lynch said.
Aside from those wide receivers, the first round saw nine offensive linemen, six quarterbacks, five defensive ends, three cornerbacks, one defensive tackle and Napa-bred tight end Brock Bowers among those taken before the 49ers’ choice at No. 31.
This also was the first draft since 2021 when quarterbacks went with the first three picks: Caleb Williams (Bears), Jayden Daniels (Commanders), and, Drake Maye (Patriots). Three more were snatched up in the Top 12: Michael Penix (Falcons) in stunning fashion at No. 8 overall, J.J. McCarthy (Vikings) at No. 10, and, Bo Nix (Broncos) at No. 12.
Not only did that run on quarterbacks push down players at other positions on draft boards, it surely reminded the 49ers how peaceful it is to have Purdy, who passed for a franchise-record 4,280 yards last season after throwing-elbow surgery last March.
Infamously, the 49ers thought they had their man in 2021, when they last drafted in the first round and selected quarterback Trey Lance at No. 3 overall. That spot cost them a trade package to Miami involving first-round picks from 2021-23. Lance followed Trevor Lawrence (Jaguars) and Zach Wilson (Jets) off the draft board, then after two faint seasons, the 49ers shipped him to the Dallas Cowboys last August for a fourth-round draft pick.
The 49ers didn’t make their initial pick in the previous two drafts until the second round in 2022 (defensive end Drake Jackson) and the third round last year (safety Ji’Ayir Brown). Other first-round picks since coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch arrived in 2017: defensive tackle Solomon Thomas (2017), linebacker Reuben Foster (2017), right tackle Mike McGlinchey (2018), defensive end Nick Bosa (2019), defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw (2020), and Aiyuk (2020).
Leading into this draft, the 49ers focused on retooling their defense: Nick Sorensen was promoted to defensive coordinator, Brandon Staley joined the coaching staff, then defensive end Leonard Floyd and linebacker De’Vondre Campbell led a contingent of free agency arrivals.
In this draft, however, defenders were overlooked until Sacramento native Laiatu Latu was picked at No. 15, with fellow defensive ends selected in the ensuing alternating picks at Nos. 17, 19 and 21. The first defensive back off the board was Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell at No. 22.
