Mel Kiper predicts where Ricky Pearsall will land in 2024 NFL Draft
The 2024 NFL Draft is packed to the brim with wide receiver talent. One of the biggest movers in the rankings since the end of the college season is Florida Gators star Ricky Pearsall. The Arizona State transfer caught the eyes of scouts during the 2022 season but really exploded on the scene in 2023. After his Senior Bowl and combine performances, Pearsall is now a lock as a second-round draft pick, according to NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.
“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.”
After solidifying his case as a high-round pick at the combine, Pearsall opted out of participating in Florida’s Pro Day on Thursday. At the combine, he had the third-best vertical among the receivers at 42 inches, while his broad jump of 10 feet and nine inches tied for sixth.
“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.”
Pearsall impresses throughout draft process
In 2022, Pearsall helped the Gators with 661 yards and five touchdowns. He turned it up a notch in 2023. He had 965 receiving yards and four touchdowns, along with two more scores on the ground as the Florida offense’s top target.
“It would be easy to get lost in this receiver group, but he won’t,” Kiper said. “He could make an argument that he’s the seventh or eighth-best receiver in this draft. No worse than 10th. There will be six or seven taken in the first, six or seven taken in the second. He’s a second-rounder all the way.”
The receivers Kiper believes will go before Pearsall have first-round projections. Those wide receivers are Marvin Harrison Jr., Xavier Worthy, Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze, Adonai Mitchell, and Brian Thomas Jr.