RickyPearsall

News: 6 days agoPearsall caught four of six targets for 56 yards in Sunday's 26-21 win over the Saints. He also rushed once for minus-4 yards.

Spin: The second-year wideout couldn't repeat his big Week 1 performance with Mac Jones under center instead of Brock Purdy (toe/shoulder), but Pearsall still delivered solid production while finishing third on the 49ers in volume behind Jauan Jennings (10 targets) and Christian McCaffrey (seven). Purdy is expected to miss multiple weeks, but Pearsall's involvement in the passing game Sunday suggests there's little reason to downgrade his outlook while catching passes from Jones. Pearsall could be busy again in Week 3 against the Cardinals.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Pearsall is entering his second NFL season positioned well for a breakout after a gunshot wound derailed a chunk of his rookie campaign. After debuting in Week 7, Pearsall had a few strong fantasy outings (17-plus points in three games), but was otherwise a nonfactor (3.6 PPG in the other eight games). The 2024 first-round pick finished strong (8-141-1 and 6-69-1 receiving lines in Weeks 17 and 18, respectively) and now has a much clearer path to consistent work with Deebo Samuel Sr. gone and Brandon Aiyuk (ACL) expected to miss part of the season. There are still plenty of mouths to feed in San Francisco, but Pearsall very well could lead this team in targets. He's well worth a midround flier.