Who Should I Start? Ihmir Smith-Marsette or Ricky Pearsall


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Ihmir Smith-Marsette News

Ihmir Smith-Marsette Injures Ankle

Saturday, August 24, 9:36 PM

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette (ankle) left the team's preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills early on Saturday after landing awkwardly completing a catch in the second quarter. The 24-year-old hauled in 2-of-3 targets for 11 yards while contributing 27 yards on two punt returns and a field-flipping 46 yards on his lone kick return. Smith-Marsette was productive before he picked up the injury and is expected to be the team's returner this upcoming season. Barring the severity of his ankle issue, that could still be the case. It's a bit early to tell how impactful the NFL's new kickoff rules will be come the start of the regular season. However, fantasy managers may want to keep the Iowa product on their radar as a sneaky option, depending on how your league values return yards. His Yahoo! ADP is far down enough that he'd be best suited as a prospective waiver-wire add.


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
9.6 1.1 0.0 3.4 47.6 0.2

Ricky Pearsall News

Ricky Pearsall Officially Undergoes Knee Surgery

Thursday, August 13, 8:52 AM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (knee) underwent season-ending surgery for his PCL injury to his right knee, according to David Lombardi of The San Francisco Standard. In Pearsall's social-media post, the former first-rounder said he had never missed a game due to a football injury in his entire career at any level. The 49ers expect Pearsall to miss anywhere from six to 12 months, and he's already been ruled out for the entire 2025 season. The 25-year-old played in just 20 games (13 starts) in his first two years in the NFL due to injury, including only nine starts last year. He's recorded 67 catches on 99 targets for 928 yards and three touchdowns in his 20 regular-season games. It's unclear if Pearsall will be ready for the start of training camp and the regular season in 2027. Pearsall's redraft and dynasty/keeper value has hit rock bottom. In his absence in 2026, rookie second-round receiver De'Zhaun Stribling will have an opportunity to carve out a larger role alongside veterans Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel Sr., and Christian Kirk.


Ihmir Smith-Marsette vs. Ricky Pearsall

Still trying to decide between Smith-Marsette and Pearsall? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Ihmir Smith-Marsette is projected to score 0.0 points this week while Ricky Pearsall is projected to score 9.6 points.