Kyle Shanahan shares his favorite trait about Ricky Pearsall

The 49ers HC and GM spoke about their first-round pick

The San Francisco 49ers have gone off the cuff more than most teams when it comes to the first round of the NFL Draft. Thursday night was no different, as the Niners selected Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall.

General manager John Lynch’s opening statement on Pearsall: “He does a lot of things well. Does a lot of the things we covet at that position well. We believe we have a real strong group there, and we wanted to add another player. Ricky is a very versatile player. And he also has some punt return value we think will come in handy. Just felt like it was the right guy at the right time. We’re really excited about him.

Here’s head coach Kyle Shanahan’s opening statement: “We just thought he played the position real well, whether it was outside or inside, all three positions. He can separate down the field; he can separate underneath. He has really good hands. Extremely smart. He’s very well-developed. He’s worked on his routes. There’s nothing he can’t do. He can fit in any other role-based on our other guys.”

Does this pick close the door on Brandon Aiyuk or Deebo Samuel getting traded? Not necessarily. Teams will still call if they —up until and through their pick at 31—exploring trades forhaven’t been already:

Lynch said, “We never close the door on a trade. We’ll always listen, and we have. But we like our group as it stands.” Shanahan, after being asked now that the first round is over, are the odds of Aiyuk being dealt slim, said, “I thought it was unlikely going into it. But that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. You listen to everything. Everything is about trying to improve our team as much as we can for 2024 without jeopardizing 2025 as much as possible.

Lynch was non-committal when asked whether Pearsall was among the Niners’ 22 first-round grades. It was one of the few questions he did not answer directly. Pearsall is in the 22nd percentile for weight and 17th percentile for wingspan. Shanahan said, “He’s not huge, but he’s still got a good body where he can handle any length from a corner. All of our guys who play outside can do it inside.”

Pearsall played 353 snaps out wide and 425 in the slot at Florida last season, where he was also the punt returner. He was also teammates with Brandon Aiyuk, who texted Shanahan and Lynch, “Fire pick. Can’t lie.”

Pearsall was recruited by one of Lynch’s close friends, former Arizona State and NFL head coach Herm Edwards. Lynch said, “I remember him telling me about this kid and how excited he was about him. He even upped his game against as good as competition as you’ll find in college football.

Shanahan did not hesitate when asked about his favorite Pearsall trait: “That he makes guys tackle him. You watch so many guys, and they get what’s there, and they go down. You kinda don’t want to ask guys to fight for every yard. You’d rather have to pull him back. When you watch a guy who has to fight for everything he can and makes people tackle him, regardless of your make-miss ability.

Then you watch his cutting ability, which makes him a punt return option. He does have the ability to make guys miss, and with his fearlessness, you feel like he’s going to be good after the catch.”

Per Sports Info Solutions, Pearsall finished 22nd in yards after the catch per reception and 24th in missed tackles per reception in the draft.

Kyle, after multiple questions about potential trades, said, “If someone offered something good to Jed [York] and John [Lynch] for me, I’m sure I’d be out of here.”

Shanahan also added what we’ve been saying all month but expounded on why Pearsall is a need:

I think the hardest thing when guys look at needs and stuff, and rosters, especially when it’s a position that’s not quarterback, where lots of guys play and you have different personnel packages. Needs aren’t always so obvious just that year. They can become a lot bigger in the second year. They can be bigger in the first year. That need can be extremely important right now or come training camp. But you also know you have to get some draft picks in here of some younger guys that are for sure going to contribute as these years go, especially with Brock and things like that.

It’s not like you go in and say, ‘Hey, we need one now because A, B, and C.’ There are four positions we were really interested in being the right pick at 31. We have arguments for every single one, and it changes each day because they all do make sense. And when it gets to there, you have to take the one that makes the most sense—and that’s not just the one that’s totally obvious right now.

It’s kind of over a three-year window, over a first-year window. And when it comes to a first-round pick, it becomes a five-year window. And what that can do to our roster from a salary cap standpoint.”

Shanahan mentioned punt returner a couple of times when discussing Pearsall.

As far as the fifth-year option, Pearsall will be 29 when that time comes around. Part of the pushback for this pick is some of the other prospects available are as much as four years younger than Pearsall. That’s an entire contract. He has to be dynamite to get offered a second contract by the 49ers.

Generally speaking, you take a receiver in the first round to be a No. 1 receiver. This past year was the first in five collegiate seasons where Pearsall had more than 610 receiving yards and 45 receptions in a season.

But nobody will care if Pearsall is the prospect the 49ers had hoped for and has a better pro career than in college. He’s in the perfect system and won’t have too much on his plate as a rookie.

It’s worth noting that 40 of his 65 receptions went for first downs, and Pearsall made some incredibly difficult receptions. He finished last season with two drops on 87 targets, both of which were “focus” drops, where he took his eyes off the ball. Pearsall is what you’d call sure-handed.

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