The 2024 National Football League draft was the 89th annual draft for this franchise that selects newly eligible players. Held this year in Michigan, on Apr. 25-27, the 49ers selected wide receiver Ricky Pearsall as their first draft.
After this draft had concluded, the San Francisco 49ers walked away with 8 new players, with 5 on offense and 3 on defense, according to The NFL. Their first member drafted was the 31st pick, then 64th, 86th, 124th, 129th, 135th, 215th, and 251st.
“I feel like the 49ers did pretty well considering they were set to draw their first pick second to last,” said sophomore Ruby Quintos. “I don’t watch too much college football but from what I’ve heard Pearsall should be a good addition,”
The order of selection in these drafts are determined by the reverse order of the standings from the previous season. Throughout the 7 rounds, each of the 32 teams has the chance to select a player in each round. This system allows for a good circulation of talent, according to sophomore Lila Pollak.
“This organization of the draft is similar to most other drafts including the recent WNBA draft,” said Pollak. “I really do think that this system regulates what teams get what players in a positive way so that the team that won the league doesn’t automatically dominate the league again the next year because of the draft,”
The wide receiver from the University of Florida, Rickey Pearsall, was the San Francisco 49ers first pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Pearsall led the Florida Gators in receptions (65), and in receiving yards per game (80.4), according to The NFL.
“I think it was a little unpredicted that the 49ers would choose another wide receiver just because I haven’t heard any talk about them dropping a current player in that position,” junior Annika Carpenter said. “I’m not sure what they have planned but I trust them,”
As the 31st pick in the draft, Pearsall’s Raw Athletic Score (RAS) is 9.91/10, which ranks him 31 out of 3,402 other wide receivers since 1987, according to The Florida Gators. The 49ers drafted a second wide receiver as their 6th pick but the 135th draft overall. Jacob Cowing from the University of Arizona will be joining the 49ers for their next season.
