Who Should I Start? Calvin Austin III or Ricky Pearsall

Tuesday, March 31, 5:54 AM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall entered this offseason as a candidate for more targets with Jauan Jennings and Brandon Aiyuk both expected to depart. However, the 49ers' rather unexpected decision to sign Mike Evans has left Pearsall right back where he started this offseason: in the No. 2 receiver role. Operating in that same role last season, Pearsall caught 36 passes for 528 yards and zero touchdowns across nine games. He never played in more than four consecutive games due to injury, and he was held to fewer than five catches in two-thirds of his contests. All in all, Pearsall likely projects best as a No. 2 receiver, so we're not surprised to see that the 49ers signed a new No. 1. Still, it certainly limits Pearsall's floor and ceiling. Plus, it's not just Evans who will steal volume from Pearsall. Tight end George Kittle (Achilles) will fetch a boatload of targets when healthy, and running back Christian McCaffrey remains the centerpiece of this offense. There's not a lot of momentum behind Pearsall's name in dynasty fantasy football, so it's tough to sell high on him at this point. Managers are better off holding him and trading him at his peak value if Evans misses time due to injury.