Mel Kiper Jr. on Ricky Pearsall: 'He screams second-round draft choice'
Ricky Pearsall is one of those receivers that you’ll find just a little further down on boards in a loaded class of pass-catchers in this NFL Draft. Still, with what he brings to the table, Mel Kiper Jr. sees him not making it past the second round in Detroit.
Kiper discussed Pearsall’s stock with Field Yates on ‘First Draft’ last week. He agreed with Yates on him as a spotlight player considering he sees Pearsall as a player who looks to be one who could stick around in the league for a long time.
“I’m with you on Ricky Pearsall,” Kiper said. “He screams second-round draft choice. He screams a guy who’s going to play in the NFL, help a team, and help a team for awhile. I’m with you on Pearsall.”
Pearsall played five collegiate seasons with three at Arizona State and the last two at Florida. In total, he appeared in 55 games without missing one, including 33 starts with the Sun Devils and with the Gators. During those five years, he caught 159 passes for 2,420 yards, good for 15.2 per catch, and 14 touchdowns. He also rushed 21 times for 253 yards at a dozen yards per touch and five more scores.
In a usual draft class of receivers, one might hear a name like Pearsall some more. This one isn’t, though, considering the names at the top. That’s why Kiper Jr. could see why he might slip past people like Yates and others as they’re all trying to assess the wideouts after the first handful.
“I’ll tell you what. I wouldn’t beat yourself up on that because there’s other receivers. This is a deep group,” Kiper said. “We don’t talk enough about Malachi Corley from Western Kentucky. Mike Tannenbaum has Ladd McConkey in his mock draft.”
“I think there’s so many receivers,” said Kiper. “You’re trying to figure out, maybe, six through 15, seven through 15 in that area.”
Pearsall being a few spots down the list of receivers shows the kind of depth and value within this class. That, according to Kiper’s read, leaves him up for a selection sometime on Friday night for a team in search of a receiver further down the board.
More from Kiper’s evaluations of Pearsall
Pearsall was graded as a second-round pick by ESPN’s Mel Kiper.
Speaking on a recent teleconference, Kiper offered this about Pearsall’s game and spot in the draft.
“I think he’s going solid second round,” Kiper said. “Obviously, everything he has done at Arizona State, Florida, Senior Bowl, the combine. Everything’s been outstanding with him.”
“He’s a 6-foot-1, 190-pound receiver who ran a 4.41,” Kiper elaborated. “He has good strength, he’s got tremendous athletic ability. A vertical of 42 inches – that’s unbelievable vertical. When you look at the production at Florida, what he did at Arizona State? I talked to Herm Edwards and the first thing he says to me is, ‘That’s my guy, Pearsall!’. He was saying that before the year even began. Herm loves the kid.”
“He tests off the charts, he’s tough, he’s aggressive with the ball in his hands, he loves football. There’s no way, after the numbers he’s shown, he gets out of the second round. It wouldn’t shock me if he went very early in the second.”