Who Should I Start? Josh Downs or Ricky Pearsall

Tuesday, April 21, 7:41 AM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall struggled to stay on the field last season. When healthy, he typically operated as the Niners' No. 2 receiver behind Jauan Jennings. Although Jennings is expected to sign elsewhere in free agency, the 49ers replaced him with proven No. 1 receiver Mike Evans. The presence of Evans will block Pearsall from making a significant leap up the depth chart this offseason. With that said, there's still the potential for Pearsall to take strides performance-wise. He's coming off a frustrating season in which he played parts of just nine games, catching 36 passes for 528 yards and zero touchdowns. He might not emerge as a major touchdown threat over Evans, Christian McCaffrey, and George Kittle, but he's still due for a little positive scoring regression. Plus, he's a safe bet for between five and eight targets per game, when healthy. If Pearsall can stay on the field, the arrival of Evans won't be that big of a concern. The 25-year-old Florida product can still be a low-end WR3/flex in dynasty and redraft leagues.