While some scratched their heads over the 49ers selection of wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, Texans quarterback CJ Stroud was devastated.
On Bleacher Report’s live NFL draft show Stroud had a pretty intense negative reaction when it was announced the 49ers would take Pearsall with the 31st overall selection. Stroud’s Texans didn’t have a first-round pick, and although they tried trading up, they continue holding the 42nd choice as their first selection in the 2024 draft.
After he composed himself, Stroud offered some thoughts.
“What? How? How is he even on their radar?” Stroud said. “I’m happy for him though. He wanted to go in the first round so he could get some more money. I talked to him a couple times, man. Congrats, bro. That’s big time. Bro, he’s a beast. Especially in that offense, man. Kyle’s gonna dial it up for him. That’s why I felt like he was gonna fit in our system so well.”
CJ Stroud's reaction. Said Ricky Pearsall is going to be so elite. Said its a big time get and he wanted to play with him on Houston. Gave A+ grade if you watch entire video on youtube. Wow. pic.twitter.com/WUx31y7kYP
— Lobs (@Lobs_All_Day) April 26, 2024
Throughout the reading of Pearsall’s player bio and stats, Stroud rattled off some exclamations of shock, disbelief and disappointment. At one point he compared Pearsall to Texans WR Tank Dell who put together a terrific rookie campaign with 47 receptions for 709 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games. Dell and Stroud played under offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, who cut his teeth as an offensive assistant under 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.
If Stroud is correct and Pearsall breaks out in Year 1 the way Dell did, the head-scratching on why the 49ers took him in Round 1 will stop, and San Francisco will be set at receiver for the foreseeable future.
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