First Impression of Ricky Pearsall from 49ers Rookie Minicamp
SANTA CLARA -- Ricky Pearsall just had his first practice with the 49ers. Here's what we learned about him.
THE GOOD
He's tough to cover when he gets a free release at the line of scrimmage. On one play, he faced rookie second-round pick Renardo Green, who lined up 9 yards off him. Pearsall ran a beautiful stutter-go double move which made Green lunge and grab him at the top of the route, but Pearsall still ran by him. Unfortunately for Pearsall, quarterback Tanner Mordecai threw the ball away, which is a strange thing to do so quickly in a 7-on-7 drill.
THE NOT SO GOOD
He struggles against press man-to-man coverage. This showed up on his college tape and was confirmed Friday on the practice field. When a cornerback gets his hands on Pearsall, Pearsall has a tough time getting open. He doesn't have the strength or elusiveness to get away quickly. Renardo Green jammed Pearsall multiple times. Even Don Callis, an undrafted rookie who played at Troy, jammed Pearsall and broke up a pass that was intended for him when he was running a slant.
THE VERDICT
In certain ways, Pearsall is similar to Deebo Samuel, because both of them struggle to beat press-man coverage, which means Kyle Shanahan has to create free releases for them. And Shanahan can do that most of the time. But when the Chiefs played press-man coverage in the Super Bowl, they shut down Samuel, and Shanahan couldn't help him. I'm guessing the 49ers will put Pearsall in motion when he's on the field, and that should help him. But when he gets the ball, he won't be the threat that Samuel is. So if Pearsall is going to replace Samuel in a year or two, he seems like a downgrade.