Who Should I Start? Jayden Reed or Ricky Pearsall

Thursday, May 15, 1:01 PM

Green Bay Packers passing-game coordinator Jason Vrable said that wide receiver Jayden Reed is up to 199 pounds (up from 185 as a rookie) and has been one of the leaders of the receiver group this offseason. Vrable said that Reed has been "helping Matthew Golden with every single play." The 25-year-old was on pace for his first 1,000-yard season in 2024 in his sophomore campaign in the first half before fading down the stretch and then suffering a dislocated shoulder in the wild-card playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Despite the team adding Golden and Savion Williams in this year's draft, the Packers still view Reed as their "top receiver." However, until we see it, the slot wideout's volume could be volatile, even with Christian Watson (knee) potentially miss half the season. Reed has the potential for a breakout, but he should be viewed as a boom/bust WR3/flex.

Tuesday, June 10, 9:22 PM

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said that wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (hamstring) was healthy to take part in mandatory minicamp this week, but the team is being careful with him and want him to be ready for training camp in late July. It makes sense for the Niners to play it safe with the former first-rounder since fellow wideout Brandon Aiyuk (knee) likely won't be ready for the start of the 2025 regular season. If the 24-year-old can return in training camp and develop chemistry with quarterback Brock Purdy, he'll have plenty of opportunity as a starter in three-wide sets in his sophomore season in the NFL. Pearsall missed the first six games of his rookie season after being shot in the chest, but he was more involved late in the year with Aiyuk out. If healthy, he should make much more noise in 2025. RotoBaller has Pearsall ranked as the No. 45 fantasy wideout.