Ricky Pearsall Fantasy Overview

2025 Was Another Rough One

Can we just get a healthy season from this guy to see what we’ve got?

You probably remember that Pearsall got shot just before his 2024 rookie campaign started. That kept him off the field until Week 7 and probably helped to limit his role through the 11 games after he returned.

Pearsall did see his usage increase at the end of the year and posted nice receiving lines of 8-141-1 and 6-69-1 to close out that season.

Momentum Carried Into 2025, Before His Knee Buckled

His second season started much more encouragingly. Pearsall hit Week 1 as a full-timer and posted these lines over the first three games:

• 4-108 on 7 targets
• 4-56 on 6 targets
• 8-117 on 11 targets

But then he left Week 4 early with a sprained right PCL that kept him out until Week 11. He tweaked that knee again in Week 15 -- just after the team’s Week 14 bye -- and missed one more game. That came late in a contest that still found him posting a nice receiving line (6-96 on 7 targets), and the wideout returned for a solid Week 17: 5 catches and 85 yards on 8 targets. He aggravated the knee again in that contest, costing him the season finale and playoff opener at Philly.

Pearsall’s other four regular-season appearances -- including the initial game he left early -- produced averages of just 3.5 targets, 2.3 catches, 16.5 yards and 7.3 yards per catch.

A complete lack of TDs for the season helped limit Pearsall to a WR47 finish in PPR points per game.

2026 Has to be Better … Right?

Everything starts with the durability questions here. We don’t have any signal as of this writing that Pearsall’s 2025 knee injury will inhibit him this summer, but we need the summer to prove that nothing’s lingering.

Pearsall also sprained an ankle late last season and dealt with hamstring trouble before the gunshot wound of 2024.

It’s also worth noting here, however, that Pearsall made it through five college seasons across two schools without losing time to injury.

His overall injury profile rates the wideout as only a “Medium Risk” by our Injury Predictor algorithm.

Starting Role Remains, But Competition Has Spiked

A healthy Pearsall should easily land a Week 1 starting role again, but the target picture has gotten more crowded than it was last year.

The 49ers let WR Jauan Jennings walk in free agency and are just delaying an official split with disgruntled WR Brandon Aiyuk. But the team also signed WR Mike Evans for $14 million a year in free agency, added veteran WR Christian Kirk on a small, one-year deal, and drafted WR De’Zhaun Stribling at the top of Round 2.

RB Christian McCaffrey and TE George Kittle return as passing-game leaders, though Kittle’s early-season status is in question coming off a January Achilles’ tear.

Enviable Offensive Environment Boosts Everyone

The 49ers should get a healthier Brock Purdy than they had last year, when he lost eight games to turf toe. That plunged the team all the way down to sixth in the league in net yards per pass attempt (which incorporates sacks). That marked the fifth straight season in which San Francisco ranked sixth or better, including four years among the league’s top 4.

Purdy has ranked among the most accurate and efficient passers in the league since arriving. Since his 2022 rookie season, Purdy ranks:

• sixth in completion rate
• second in TD rate
• second in passer rating
• first in yards per pass attempt

HC Kyle Shanahan’s scheme has generated that type of efficiency since even before Purdy arrived. If you’re healthy and playing well enough to stay involved, then the Shanahan-Purdy pairing is likely to boost your production profile.

What’s the Ceiling Look Like?

Pearsall entered last season with a pretty solid shot at leading the team in targets, with WR Jauan Jennings the biggest competitor at his position.

The former first-round pick could still edge Evans in targets per game, but that’s tougher to bet on. And Pearsall faces target challenges from Kittle and McCaffrey whenever they’re on the field as well.

Every one of those players carries some injury risk, though. McCaffrey made it through 17 games in 2025 but sat out 13 with tendonitis in both Achilles’ tendons the year before. Kittle will need to prove he’s all the way back from his January injury. And Evans lost three games to hamstring injuries each of the past two years.

Injuries to any of those guys would raise the ceiling for Pearsall by adding target upside. Evans looks like the most direct impactor.

As long as everyone’s healthy -- and Evans doesn’t show signs of meaningful physical decline -- it’s tough to envision Pearsall’s fantasy scoring climbing beyond WR3 range.

If Pearsall falters, whether because of injury or sheer performance, Stribling could challenge for his job.