The San Francisco 49ers need any productive wide receiver they can find.
They traded away Deebo Samuel. Brandon Aiyuk is on the physically unable to perform list. Jauan Jennings has a calf injury. Jacob Cowing is out for a while. It's not how a team wants to head into Week 1.
That leaves Ricky Pearsall at the forefront of the WR depth chart, not so much wanting but absolutely needing to make an impact because the 'Niners simply don't have much else working in their favor from a wideout perspective.
And that's why ESPN's Ben Solak named Pearsall the 49ers' X-factor for this season.
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San Francisco battled injuries all of last season and stumbled to a 6-11 mark. To rebound from that this year, they can't afford a slow start, even with the receiver injuries.
Pearsall's final two games last year provided reason for optimism.
"Pearsall ended the season strong (14 catches on 18 targets for 210 yards and two touchdowns in the final two games) but was quiet beforehand," Solak writes. "Of course, he was recovering from a gunshot wound for much of training camp."
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Even this offseason, Pearsall has dealt with a hamstring issue, although he appears to be up to speed now.
"San Francisco needs Pearsall to be both healthy and capable of providing that late-season production on a weekly basis if it want its offense to return to its league-leading ways," Solak writes.
There is one bright side in the Bay Area: Christian McCaffrey is healthy. The dual-threat running back can be an asset in the passing game. So can tight end George Kittle.
But with Brock Purdy on his new contract, the 49ers can't afford to waste time. This is a team built to win. It just happens to be quite injured at the moment. Pearsall could be the key to making sure the 'Niners get off to a strong start anyway.
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