Who Should I Start? Ricky Pearsall or Xavier Legette

Thursday, March 12, 7:01 AM

A first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall has missed 14 games due to injury over the first two years of his NFL career. When healthy, Pearsall's production has been more solid than spectacular. Across nine games played in 2025, the 25-year-old hauled in 36 receptions for 528 yards and zero touchdowns on 53 targets. The 49ers made one of the biggest splashes of the early portion of free agency by signing veteran wide receiver Mike Evans to a three-year deal. While the 32-year-old Evans may no longer be the player he once was at his peak, he still projects as San Francisco's top outside wideout and could push Pearsall to the WR2 role. On the bright side for Pearsall's production outlook, the 49ers could be losing wide receiver Jauan Jennings to free agency and will likely be without star tight end George Kittle (Achilles) for a chunk of 2026 as Kittle recovers from a torn Achilles tendon. Still, the signing of Evans could signal that San Francisco does not view Pearsall as a number-one wide receiver option going forward and may be bad news for his long-term dynasty outlook.