There was an abundance of criticism for Ricky Pearsall through a five-game stretch in which he was targeted just nine times for two catches and 21 yards.
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Much of this criticism included a bowl demolition in Buffalo and multiple games, including the losses to the Packers and Rams, in which the offense could not function at a basic level.
The All-22 tape (video that shows all 22 players on the field, and what actually happened on a play) indicated Pearsall was separating more often than not against man coverage. He was frequently used on clearout routes to create space for the likes of George Kittle, Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings. He wasn’t trusted yet, which is no surprise for a rookie, let alone one who missed OTAs and training camp and who was then shot in the chest.
He was frequently ignored in the progression, even when he was snapping open. Sometimes that was a product of poor pass protection, poor protection calls against the defense, Purdy’s preferences, his view of the defense, or the design of the play.
But there was definite criticism for Pearsall, with some questioning whether he was a wasted pick. It was there from those who looked at box scores, for those who didn’t watch or have access to the All-22, or who did not have an understanding of how difficult it is for any receiver to adjust to Kyle Shanahan’s demanding offense, let alone without any practice. And Pearsall heard all of that.
He told me Monday it was “impossible” for him not to hear those critics. Players can try to avoid being online and seeking out criticism, but they’re like most people. They have friends and family who let them know what people are saying. Pearsall took that criticism in stride.
“It motivates me a little bit more,” Pearsall told me. “And then for me, it's just in my head. It was like, they just don't know what they don't know. So I can't blame y'all. So what can I do to change that stigma? Or whatever kind of light that it's bringing in for me? It’s just to make plays when the opportunity presents itself and be patient. Because I obviously know that my situation was different in the season and I can't expect a lot when I missed the first six games.”
Take Kyle Shanahan’s assessment of Pearsall.
Shanahan, as you’ll remember, is as harsh on young receivers — his former position at Texas — as anyone (see: Dante Pettis, Brandon Aiyuk). He was blunt when Pearsall was misaligned for a crucial illegal formation against the Miami Dolphins (it was called on him twice on the same drive, but one should have been assessed to George Kittle).
“I thought Ricky had an unbelievable season,” Shanahan said Wednesday. “I know the gunshot wound is the biggest obviously, but I've never had a rookie player miss all of OTAs and training camp and have much of a successful rookie year. It's tough to do that. For him to do that and then get into week one, which I knew he would be way behind because of that situation and then get a gunshot wound kind of made me think that we were going to get nothing from him, just in terms of how could we and how hard that would be on him.
“But how quick he came back from that and then when he did, just to watch him go through rookie things in a live NFL game and then having to watch him come back from that stuff throughout the year and still hit a rookie wall without a foundation of an offseason and stuff like that, I thought it was a huge success for him this year.”
After hitting that five-game “rookie wall” — following a three-game debut of 15 catches for 132 yards and a touchdown — Pearsall returned to the stat sheet. The ball came his way.
Against the Dolphins, he had four catches for 37 yards. Then he tallied eight catches for 141 yards and a touchdown against the Detroit Lions with the only two targets he didn’t catch being Brock Purdy interceptions (an underthrow and overthrow). He reeled in six catches for 69 yards and a touchdown in the season finale back home in Arizona.
Among those catches were some massively impressive ones, with a bobbled, toe-drag catch along the sideline against the Lions, a difficult catch he had to come back to on a Josh Dobbs underthrow against the Cardinals, and a tight coverage catch for touchdown against man coverage in that season finale.
Pearsall’s wide receivers coach, Leonard Hankerson, had praise for him, too.
“I started playing faster,” Pearsall told me. “That was the biggest thing for me and my biggest coaching point that Hank was telling me, ‘You just need to play faster. We got to get you to play faster. Whatever we can do to do that, as far as getting the playbook, or more reps you're gonna get.’
“He was just giving me some kudos a second ago. He was just talking about what I looked like before, and now. He was like, 'You look like a completely different player already and you haven't even gone through a full training camp and gone through the first half of the season.'
“So he was just telling me how excited he is for me to come back and get started again. I'm excited to continue to get coached by him because, man, I have a lot of love for him. Even though y'all saw him yelling at me. I ain't gonna mess up another alignment, I'll say that much.”
Again, this is a rookie who was shot in the chest the day after roster cuts, who did not practice in OTAs or training camp. Shanahan expected very little from him.
And while he didn’t talk about it often in an effort to focus on the season, Pearsall was reliving that life-threatening moment in Union Square.
Pearsall said he, “had to try and catch my mind up,” without having real time for reflection.
“I just replay it over and over again,” Pearsall told me. “You get in those dark moments where you just think about it. I have trauma from it. It's real shit.”
Pearsall said he plans to go home and spend time with his family in Arizona. But he also plans to go to therapy to help process his trauma.
“I'll probably see some people,” Pearsall said. “See some people, talk to my family. I think that's the main thing, is going back and talking to my family. It was such a quick turnaround. They came and saw me after it all happened, but they have their own lives to go back to.”
But Pearsall also had a palpable excitement for the physical work he’ll be able to get in this offseason. John Lynch emphasized the importance of that, and the confidence he has in Pearsall's work ethic Wednesday. So did Brock Purdy, who started to trust the rookie more in their final two games together.
Purdy said Monday that the two plan to meet up in Florida, where Purdy trains in the offseason.
‘We've already talked about making sure that we get together when we're both down there and then back here at any point, anytime we can get on the field together," Purdy said. "ust work on stuff and talk through things. That would be huge, even to sit down, watching some film together. But he's a guy that talks about routes and his cuts, and when he's talking about it, he's so excited about it, which for me as a quarterback, I'm like, 'Dude, I love that.
“Like, I'll take you and ride with you every day of the week, because I know that you're going to give everything you got.' So we're going to build off that. And he's got the drive, he's got the 'it' factor, so can't ask for more.”
Those two will need to develop that rapport. Pearsall could end up as the 49ers’ No. 1 receiver going into next season depending on Brandon Aiyuk’s recovery. Jauan Jennings took over Aiyuk’s X (split end) spot, but he lacks the athleticism to challenge a defense vertically and should probably return to the slot even though he produced career highs this season.
As a receiver, Deebo Samuel is only a plus player against zone-heavy defenses. If Aiyuk can’t go, that X responsibility should fall to Pearsall. In an ideal world, Aiyuk would return to his X role, with Pearsall at the Z (the flanker spot that Samuel has played), with Jennings at the Y (slot) and with Samuel a rotational receiver you can play more against zone-heavy defenses. But if there’s no Aiyuk, or not the same Aiyuk, Pearsall should get the chance there.
“That's an opportunity I want,” Pearsall told me. “I really do hope B.A. comes back, because that's my brother, and the sky's the limit for him, and it'll be really fun to have both of us on the field at the same time, with J.J. and Deebo. I think it'll just make us way more lethal. But for me personally, I just want to have a bigger role. I want to be able to go out there and make plays and create impacts.”