Who Should I Start? Chris Olave or Ricky Pearsall

Thursday, May 22, 3:14 PM

New Orleans Saints wide receivers Chris Olave (head) and Rashid Shaheed (knee) look fully recovered during OTAs, according to team beat writer Matthew Paras. Olave missed nine games last season due to multiple head injuries/concussions, while Shaheed's season ended in Week 6 after he suffered a torn meniscus. Both New Orleans wideouts are explosive play-makers with blazing speed, but health will be a concern in 2025. Additionally, they are likely to be catching passes from rookie quarterback Tyler Shough for most of the year, and rookie signal-callers traditionally struggle to support multiple fantasy-relevant pass-catchers. All that said, their positive injury updates early in the offseason are promising. Olave, priced as a mid-range WR3, could present value if Shough exceeds expectations. Shaheed remains a late-round best ball dart throw.

Thursday, May 29, 6:04 PM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (hamstring) is dealing with a hamstring injury and likely won't return to practice until training camp at the end of July, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. It doesn't sound like it's a serious injury for Pearsall, the but Niners won't take any chances with last year's first-rounder after he also dealt with hammy issues going into his rookie season in 2024. The 24-year-old pass-catcher then suffered a gunshot wound to his chest and didn't make his NFL debut until Week 7. He's expected to have a key role in the offense in his sophomore season with Deebo Samuel Sr. no longer in town and Brandon Aiyuk (knee) unlikely to be ready for the start of the season, but Pearsall is going to lose valuable reps this offseason to gain chemistry with quarterback Brock Purdy. Pearsall could still be ready for Week 1, but this news doesn't do anything to dispel the notion that Pearsall is injury-prone.