General manager Eric DeCosta admitted the reigning NFC champions got one of his favorite prospects in this year’s class of loaded wide receiver class.
Given the wealth of playmaking talent at the wide receiver position in the 2024 NFL Draft, there were bound to be some sleepers who inevitably slip through the cracks and fall further down the board than their talent suggests they should. The Baltimore Ravens, who were looking to take a receiver “at some point” according to general manager Eric DeCosta, landed one such prospect in the top of the fourth round in Devontez Walker at No. 113 overall.
However, DeCosta thought they might’ve had a chance at a particular receiver prospect he didn’t think the rest of the league was as high after they took former cornerback Nate Wiggins in Round 1.
“One of my sleepers in this draft was [Ricky] Pearsall,” DeCosta said. “He went in the first round, which was crazy.”
While they had potential receiver targets in every round, the former Florida Gator was high up on their wish list. DeCosta commended the San Francisco 49ers for standing by their convictions and evaluations when they took him a bit higher than consensus had him projected to go at No. 31 overall.
“It was a great pick. I give those guys a lot of credit,” DeCosta said. “I thought that was a guy that we might get that was a sleeper for us at some point. He really wasn’t a hot, hot commodity name. But that was another guy when you watched his game, he’s a super impressive player on tape.”
Pearsall’s selection triggered a run on the position that bled into the top of the second round where four straight receivers came off the board from picks 31-34, all of whom were prospects who had been linked to the Ravens throughout the pre-draft process. After he was picked by the 49ers, the Carolina Panthers traded up to take Xavier Leggette with the last pick in the first round, the Buffalo Bills took Keon Coleman and the Los Angeles Chargers traded up to draft Ladd McConkey.
With Walker, they believed they not only drafted the best remaining receiver, but the best available player overall at the time as well. They had a similarly high rating on Iowa State cornerback T.J. Tampa, but opted to go with the bigger need and still got him 17 picks later at No. 130 overall.
“It worked out very well for us,” DeCosta said. “I never thought ‘Tez’ would have been there in the fourth round.”
Both Pearsall and Walker are going to be playing behind a pair of entrenched starters as rookies on their respective teams but should still be able to carve out roles as solid contributors.