Ricky Pearsall's 1st-round selection by the 49ers draws mixed reviews

The San Francisco 49ers surprised many when they picked Florida Gators receiver Ricky Pearsall 31st overall in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday night. In fact, an SFGate headline read, “49ers pull off NFL Draft shocker.”

Pearsall was coming off a big season — and he shined leading up to the draft.

Yet, quite a few draft gurus didn’t project him to be a first-rounder.

Here’s what people were saying about Pearsall’s selection after it went down …

*”After a ton of speculation about the San Francisco 49ers potentially trading up in the first round of the NFL Draft, or adding more first-round picks by trading away a star receiver, the Niners ended up staying and picking … a wide receiver. The 49ers stunned most of the experts by selecting Ricky Pearsall, a wide receiver out of Florida, with the No. 31 pick. For most of Thursday, reports around the 49ers were centered around the team potentially trading wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who has been angling for a contract extension. There were also multiple reports that other NFL teams had checked in on the Niners’ other star receiver, Deebo Samuel.” — SFGate

*Pearsall played primarily out of the slot in college but is a bit more well-rounded than you might expect. His game-breaking speed suggests that he should be able to line up out wide in the NFL and win deep. He’s a sure-handed receiver who can make big plays after the catch as well. And like most 49ers’ receivers, he’s a strong and willing blocker who can impact the run game and allow teammates to rack up yards after the catch. Splitting touches with Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle will make production tough to come by, but he’s got the athleticism to develop into a primary weapon down the road.” — FootballGuys.com

*”This pick does come as a surprise, mostly because Pearsall was a lesser-known commodity than some of the draft’s big-name receivers. But it’s not hard to see a potential fit for Pearsall with the 49ers given how well he moves — he clocked a 4.41 40-yard dash and 6.64 three-cone drill at the NFL Scouting Combine.” —The Athletic

*”I’m not saying I’m some guru or GOAT, but I know routes when I see them and I know football players at the receiver position. When I watched him, at first I was like, ‘Okay, he’s good.’ Because I had seen him at Arizona State. And his first year at Florida was okay. This year, he put it together. … I wanted him bad.” — Quarterback CJ Stroud of the Houston Texans via Bleacher Report

California news outlet gives Rickey Pearsall’s selection an A+

*”I have spent more hours than I care to count watching the NFL draft class of 2024. I tried to watch every player that had a chance of being drafted in the first seven rounds, so I lost count of how many guys that was long ago. It’s all in my notes. And amid the countless players and countless hours, I came away with one thing I fully knew to be true — a conviction I felt deep, down in my bones:

Ricky Pearsall was the truth.

He was my favorite player in this draft, my pick not just for value, not just for a pick in the region the 49ers would be picking, but overall. No adjectives or caveats are needed. I am fully convinced he will be the standout from this draft. So for the 49ers to pick him with their first-round pick — No. 31 — deserves an A+ grade.” — The Mercury News

*”Ricky was a guy that we got a lot of conviction a lot of consensus from every area of our organization. Ricky was a guy that just kept gaining steam.” — John Lynch, GM of the 49ers, in interview with KNBR

To Mel Kiper, the pick was a head-scratcher

*”This one makes you wonder what’s going on with Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel, right? Could the 49ers have more moves coming? In the end, though, I had Pearsall ranked below both Xavier Legette, Keon Coleman and Adonai Mitchell, all of whom were still available at the end of Round 1. …  Pearsall lit up the combine with his testing numbers, and he could be a better pro than college player. He’s my No. 10 wideout.”” — Mel Kiper

*”Pearsall was expected to be a second-round pick by most draft experts, ranking as the 48^th-best prospect the consensus board compiled by Arif Hasan, behind other receivers who were available like Georgia’s Ladd McConkey and Texas’ Adonai Mitchell. The Niners exhausted their entire time on the clock before submitting the pick, suggesting they tried to trade down before ultimately bucking the convention. With Samuel and Aiyuk entrenched atop the receiving depth chart, Pearsall will likely compete with Jauan Jennings to be the Niners’ third receiver during the preseason.” — NinersNation

*”From a production standpoint, this isn’t a first-round profile. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler gave Pearsall a second/third-round grade. But Pearsall has some impressive tracking skills and excellent body control to make tough catches. The athleticism won’t wow, but he’s a smart receiver who knows how to use his body well. He can work inside or out and be a reliable route technician. There’s also some special teams versatility as a punt returner.” — Saturday Down South