49ers receiver Ricky Pearsall shares how he has taken his game to the next level

SANTA CLARA — The name of the play is “trips right, three-jet, Florida.”Yet, the guy who finished his college career at Florida did not think the ball would be coming his way when he broke the 49ers’ huddle for a crucial fourth-and-2 play.The pass was not called specifically for Pearsall, though it certainly sounded that way when coach Kyle Shanahan revealed the name of the play after the 49ers’ 16-15 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.“That’s what you’d think, right?” Pearsall told NBC Sports Bay Area on Wednesday. “But I think that play was called that long before I got here.” RICKY PEARSALL WITH A HUGE GRAB pic.twitter.com/ch3YR6XuOj — 49ers on NBCS (&commat;NBCS49ers) September 21, 2025 Pearsall arrived last season as a first-round 2024 NFL Draft pick from Florida after he spent his first three college seasons at Arizona State.Pearsall made the nice grab of a 34-yard pass from Mac Jones that contributed to the 49ers’ last-second win. He landed hard on his left knee and got up slowly. He was held out of practice on Wednesday.“I was feeling sore, but it’s just a precaution thing,” Pearsall said. “If there was a game today, I’d definitely play.”Pearsall said he has no doubt he will be available for the 49ers’ Week 4 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars this Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.He quickly has turned into an indispensable player in the 49ers’ offense.Pearsall has gotten off to a strong start in his second NFL season with 16 catches for a team-high 281 yards through three games.He ranks third in the NFL in receiving yards behind only Puka Nacua (333) of the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba (323).Pearsall credits his knowledge of the system for his quick start after catching 31 passes for 400 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games as a rookie.“I’m more comfortable with the offense,” Pearsall said. “Obviously, the whole offseason, you’re physically getting ready. But I think just knowing the offense a little bit better is making me play just that much faster.“You can be physically gifted all you want and be grinding in the offseason, but if you don’t mentally know everything about the playbook, you’re going to go out there and play slow.”Pearsall’s fourth-down reception deep down the field demonstrated a level of trust that he has earned. Shanahan called the play, and Jones delivered the pass.Yet, Pearsall broke the huddle thinking the ball probably would be thrown to Kendrick Bourne, who took the spot usually designated for Jauan Jennings.“It’s actually a very common play call,” Pearsall said. “We like to run it just to get an easy 5 yards. We had K.B. in the slot. We like to say it’s the J.J. play because he’s super good at it.“It’s a little 5 yard out, basically. And that’s what I was really expecting. But as soon as they gave us that look, where the corner was playing close to me in press [coverage], I knew I had a shot to get the ball.”The defensive back slid inside, Pearsall observed, so he figured Jones would target him against single coverage deep down the field on a go-route.As a young receiver, Pearsall said he always tries to guard against doing too much thinking. After all, if he does not believe the pass is going to be going his way, there is always the temptation to let off the throttle just a little.“If you know the coverage, and you know the route you’re running and it’s not good for that coverage, then you might run the route completely different, which you shouldn’t do,” he said. “You should still run the route full speed, like you’re getting the ball every single time.“I’ll still catch myself sometimes, because I’ll figure out what the coverage is and it might not be the right route for the coverage. So I just tell myself, it’s coming my way, regardless. I always expect to get the ball, but that’s just how you’re supposed to play as a receiver.”Download and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast

49ers receiver Ricky Pearsall shares how he has taken his game to the next level

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