3 months agoThe San Francisco 49ers raised a few eyebrows when they selected Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall in Round 1 of the NFL Draft. The move indicated one of Brandon Aiyuk or Deebo Samuel Sr. would be traded to make room for the rookie. While no immediate trade occurred, Aiyuk appears on the verge of being dealt as of early August. While that's iffy news for 49ers fans, it's good news for Pearsall's redraft outlook. San Francisco rarely uses three wide receiver sets, which would leave Pearsall as the odd man out if Aiyuk stays. Pearsall's a good route runner, can hack it from all three receiver positions, and wins at all levels of the field. The rookie is a talented player but needs an avenue to playing time. He also re-aggravated a shoulder issue that landed Pearsall on the active/non-football injury list to open training camp, but Kyle Shanahan claims it was precautionary. Ranked as RotoBaller's WR117, Pearsall now makes for an intriguing late-round grab in redraft formats and would start climbing if an Aiyuk trade materializes. Update 09/2/24: Pearsall was released from the hospital on Sunday after being the victim of a robbery attempt on Saturday. The 49ers rookie was shot in the chest, but fortunately, the bullet missed his vital organs. He was upgraded from "serious" to "fair" condition. The 23-year-old will have to clear some hurdles before he steps onto the field in 2024, but it's great news that he was released from the hospital and was able to return home.--Dave Ventresca