It was a little bit of a surprise on the first night of the NFL draft when the San Francisco 49ers selected wide receiver Ricky Pearsall with the No. 31 overall pick.
The choice led to rampant speculation about the future of the 49ers receiving corps and what the Pearsall selection meant for veterans Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. For now, all three remain on the roster.
Pearsall’s rookie season should offer plenty of runway for the first-year WR to get acclimated to the NFL. If Samuel and Aiyuk are both on the roster Week 1 with Jauan Jennings, Pearsall won’t need to take on much right away.
That story changes in the future. Pearsall figures to be a big part of the 49ers offense beyond this season. It’s clear the young receiver knows that because he’s already building a foundation with quarterback Brock Purdy.
Pearsall on Friday told reporters that getting into a system with a top quarterback has helped him hit the ground running as a pro.
“He’s one of the top quarterbacks in the league right now,” Pearsall said via 95.7 The Game. “Going into a system with a quarterback like that, it’s a great blessing for myself. It’s made everything easier just chopping it up with him each and every day.”
It’s not just the practice field where Pearsall and the QB get to chat. They’re locker-mates which gives the first-round pick an opportunity to build a strong relationship with the 49ers franchise signal caller.
“His locker’s actually right next to mine, so I get to talk to him each and every day,” Pearsall said. “Going up to him and just having a normal conversation. Like, what can I get better at? Just asking him questions about the playbook, and getting feedback from the quarterback. Because once you start seeing it through the quarterback’s lens it just gets that much easier for a receiver. Just continuing to develop that trust and that connection with him.”
If that connection grows quickly it could mean an earlier step into a bigger role for Pearsall. Rookie WRs tend to have a hard time in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense because of how meticulous the coach is with where players line up and how they run their routes.
Getting to go through all that with Purdy on a regular basis could ease the learning curve for Pearsall and put him in a good position to succeed both in 2024 and beyond.
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