Jordan Watkins

This is ominous. Matt Maiocco’s follow-up report stated that Ricky Pearsall is dealing with the same PCL tear that plagued him last year. The 49ers believed it would fully heal with offseason rest, but their beleaguered medical staff were wrong. San Francisco must now determine whether Pearsall requires surgery to properly repair the ligament.

Pearsall, who boasts upper percentile athleticism and some tantalizing spike weeks, is tumbling down draft boards as lingering knee swelling threatens to derail a second straight season. With veteran Christian Kirk also sidelined after registering a paltry 6.7-percent Target Share last year, a bucket of targets in San Francisco are up for grabs.

Pearsall’s health concerns open the door for rookie De’Zhaun Stribling, who features a 100.4 Speed Score, to lock down No. 2 wideout duties and push for fantasy football FLEX consideration in 2026. For the first time, Stribling (WR59) has overtaken Pearsall (WR63) on PlayerProfiler’s Dynasty Rankings.

The San Francisco 49ers lost Deebo Samuel this offseason in a trade to Washington. At No. 138 of the NFL Draft, they picked up Jordan Watkins, receiver from Mississippi, who ran a 4.37 40-yard dash at the combine.

However, with Brandon Aiyuk due back at some stage in the season, George Kittle, Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall, and a healthy Christian McCaffrey, it’s very hard to see a rookie from Day 3 seeing any relevance.

Interestingly, all the receivers in Round 4 ran in the 4.30s for the 40-yard dash except Jalen Royals and Elic Ayomanor (who still ran low-4.4). Let’s call Round 4 the speed round.

Author Scott Riley