49ers fuel trade talk they've tried to shut down by picking Ricky Pearsall in first round of 2024 NFL Draft
The San Francisco 49ers three-year wait for a first-round selection ended with them taking Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall in a move that will do little to quell trade speculation around their top pass-catchers. For San Francisco, the lead-up to the draft has been dominated by speculation surrounding the future of All-Pro wideout Brandon Aiyuk, […]
The San Francisco 49ers three-year wait for a first-round selection ended with them taking Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall in a move that will do little to quell trade speculation around their top pass-catchers.
For San Francisco, the lead-up to the draft has been dominated by speculation surrounding the future of All-Pro wideout Brandon Aiyuk, who is hoping to receive a lucrative contract extension from the 49ers, who have continually refuted any suggestion they are considering trading him. Draft night began with talk that the 49ers had also been in talks with teams about potentially trading their other All-Pro receiver, Deebo Samuel.
Though the 49ers did not receive the first-round pick they desired for Aiyuk, the addition of Pearsall will only serve to increase speculation around their top two receivers.
Mike Silver of The San Francisco Chronicle previously reported that a rival general manager had stated his belief the 49ers might accept a second-round pick for Aiyuk, potentially packaged with a future selection next year.
So there is the possibility that an Aiyuk trade is still in play, but Silver reported shortly after the pick was made that, based on his conversations, the Niners are more likely to deal Samuel.
Yet there is also the similarly distinct possibility that the 49ers are simply stacking the deck for Brock Purdy in his final cheap year by getting him another dynamic pass-catching weapon.
Pearsall is an extremely polished route-runner who can make some extraordinary plays at the catch point and does an excellent job tracking the football. On top of that, he adds the versatility to play inside and out, had five touchdowns rushing the ball in college and has experience returning punts.
Regardless of the future of their top two receivers, Pearsall adds another multi-faceted weapon to the 49er offense, and Kyle Shanahan tends to do a pretty good job of using those.
