Scouting Report: Ricky Pearsall (WR) - Florida
Sales Pitch: "Dynamic Z WR who can separate at all levels of the field. A late breakout age and a smaller frame create a modest ceiling projection but will bring toughness, dependability and athleticism to any offense he joins. Should be a Week 1 starter and immediate producer."
Athletic Profile
Height: 6’ 1”
Weight: 189 lbs
Arm Length: 30 7/8”
Hand Size: 9 1/4”
40 Yard Dash: 4.41
10 Yard Split: 1.49
Vertical: 42”
Broad Jump: 10’ 9”
Short Shuttle: 4.05
3-Cone: 6.64
Age: 23
Relative Athletic Score: 9.91 / 10.00
Statistics
Career: 159 REC - 2,420 YDS - 15.2 YPR - 14 TD
2023: 65 REC - 965 YDS - 14.8 YPR - 4 TD
Strengths
Dynamic all-around athlete
Plays above his size with toughness and aggression
Consistently shows up late in games
Foot speed and hand work to win at the line of scrimmage
Strong collection of head fakes and jabs to win on double moves
True three-level separator
Compact frame capable of absorbing contact at catch point
3.6% career drop rate
45% career contested catch rate
Impressive body control and adjustment skills
Leaping ability and aggression to win in jump ball scenarios
Versatile player in terms of alignment and touches
Weaknesses
Smaller frame with short arms
Will be 24 by the start of rookie year
5 year player who only broke 700 yards once
Struggles to beat press versus DBs who can match him athletically
Looks to avoid reroutes against zone which can disrupt timing
Inconsistent at varying the speed and tempos of his stems
Lacks the top gear to beat a defense vertically
Limited catch radius
Athletic ability does not translate to YAC production
Size reduces his impact as a blocker
Summary
Ricky Pearsall is a dynamic athlete with the separation quickness and speed to win at all three levels. The former 3-Star from Arizona spent his first three seasons at Arizona State, winning All-Pac 12 honors in 2021, before transferring to Florida for his final two years of college. Pearsall is a tremendous athlete with the short area burst to quickly attack DBs off the line of scrimmage. He has excellent change of direction skills that allow him access a variety of jabs and head fakes to manipulate defenders on his releases and stems. He is quickly able to drop his hips and explode laterally to gain separation at the top of his routes. Pearsall is on the smaller side for a WR, press CBs who can match him athletically are able to impact his releases when they get hands on but a majority the time his quick feet and hand usage are enough to get him a step off the line. When he does get a step he quickly is able to stack defenders and get them on his back hip. While Pearsall is not an elite deep threat he has enough speed (4.41 40-time) to stretch defenses vertically. He shows excellent ball tracking skills and body control down the field. He is an explosive leaper (42” vertical!!) with good jump timing, making him an effective contested catch player (45% conversion rate in his career) despite his smaller frame. Pearsall has extremely dependable hands (4% career drop rate), displaying good concentration and dexterity on balls on and off his frame. He has a limited catch radius, his sub 31” arms can limit his ability to corral errant passes on the move. Despite his athletic gifts, Pearsall is not a particularly dynamic YAC threat. He has the fluidity to quickly get up the field with the ball but doesn’t consistently break or elude tackles. His 5.8 YAC/REC ranked only 147th in the country in 2023. Pearsall brings tons of big game experience to the NFL as a fifth year starter, he routinely made big plays late in games and on third down for Florida. At 23 (will be 24 by Week 1) what you see is what you get with Pearsall. He projects to be a high floor player who can step in Day 1 as a slot or Z-WR. He brings toughness, strong hands and true tree level separation skills to an offense and should hear his name quite early on Day 2.