Ricky Pearsall’s Week 15 matchup vs. the Titans raises a burning question fantasy managers can’t afford to ignore.QQ
With the fantasy football playoffs comes an all new level of risk involved with every start-or-sit decision. Balancing that risk with potential reward is key, which makes San Francisco 49ers wideout Ricky Pearsall an intriguing option in a particularly soft matchup against the Tennessee Titans. However, he’s yet to post a standout game since returning from injury several weeks ago.
The upside is clear to see, but it’s admittedly a little tough to trust Pearsall in such a key spot. Should the wide receiver be in fantasy lineups as a FLEX option in Week 15?
Analysis
The upside of Ricky Pearsall is tantalizing, to be clear. A first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, he missed much of his rookie campaign due to a gunshot wound and soft-tissue injuries but finally came online down the stretch. He finished that season with an eight-catch, 141-yard outing with a touchdown in Week 17 to the tune of 28.7 PPR points before posting six catches for 69 yards and another score in Week 18, good for 18.9 fantasy points. The glimpses of what he could become were intriguing, and he backed up those flashes with a couple of excellent games to start this season. With stat lines of 108 and 117 yards across his first four appearances of 2025, a surge to fantasy difference-maker status seemed on the horizon.
However, that leap to stardom ended up a mere flash in the pan compared to how the remainder of his season has played out. Pearsall missed Week 5 through Week 10 due to an injury before finally returning in Week 11. Since coming back, the wideout hasn’t recorded more than two catches or 14 yards across his three appearances with fantasy outings of just 1.0, 2.8 and 3.4 PPR points. With just 8.5 FPPG, is the second-year player even worth slotting into playoff lineups at this point? Could he be more of a trap play than real option for contests?
If this were the early season version of Pearsall, this would be an entirely different conversation. He across his first four games of the campaign, the Florida product saw a 19.6% target share and was quite productive with his looks, the second-most of any 49er behind only Christian McCaffrey. He averaged 17.4 yards per reception and 2.50 yards per route run while accounting for 42.4% of the team’s total air yards. In three games since returning, the peripherals are nowhere near that stratosphere. Pearsall’s seen a 12.2% target share, fourth on the team. While he was very efficient with his initial opportunities, he’s now averaging just 4.0 yards per reception with 0.24 yards per route run, accounting for only 15.8% of the team’s air yards. That’s quite the drop.
With a decreased target share and his usage limited to the short game rather than downfield looks, there’s very little reason to project a major change in Pearsall’s production in Week 15 or beyond. All of George Kittle, Jauan Jennings and Christian McCaffrey are ahead of him in the pecking order and it’s quite difficult to see Pearsall producing reliable numbers with the downtick in opportunities. It’s not that he’s any less talented than before — he’s still the same guy who popped off in the early weeks of the season. The role has shifted though and the offense is largely working for the 49ers, winners of three straight.
As tantalizing as his spike weeks are (especially against the Titans, one of the league’s worst defenses) Pearsall is a player best left on benches heading into the fantasy football playoffs in season-long leagues given his boom-or-bust. His target share is simply too shaky and game script could phase out San Francisco pass catchers anyways. In DFS, he’s much more palatable as a FLEX option, but even then, relying on him feels like a tough pill to swallow. In short, proceed with caution.
