C.J. Stroud didn't have to say a single word to express how he felt about the 49ers selecting Ricky Pearsall with their first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Houston Texans quarterback joined Bleacher Report's live draft show Thursday with Dallas Cowboys All-Pro linebacker Micah Parsons, and as host Adam Lefkoe began to announce San Francisco's selection with the No. 31 overall pick, Stroud threw his body back, placed his hands on his head and turned his body to the side with his head faced down.
After a few seconds, he was able to put his stunned and animated reaction into words -- or a word.
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"Damn," Stroud shouted, as he immediately turned to his cell phone.
Lefkoe pointed out that over the course of the four-plus hours that they had sat there during the live stream, San Francisco's selection was the first that prompted that kind of reaction from Stroud.
"How? How was he even on their radar?" Stroud said. "I'm happy for him though, he wanted to go in the first round. He gets more money. I talked to him a couple times, man. Congrats, bro. That's big time.
"He's elite. You'll see. Especially in their offense, Kyle [Shanahan]'s going to dial it up for him. That's why I feel like he was going to fit in our system. ... He's nasty, bro."
San Francisco 49ers
Stroud explained that he kept tabs on the wide receiver in college and had several conversations with him before the draft. Stroud also revealed who he texted once the pick was announced.
"I don't know what it is, man," Stroud said. "I'm not saying I'm some guru or some receiver GOAT, but I know routes when I see them and I know football players at the receiver position. So when I watched him, at first I was like, 'OK he's good,' because I seen him at Arizona State. And then his first year at Florida was OK. His last year, he put it together.
"It's everything combined. I just texted one of my best friends, he's always with me, and I told him like, 'Damn, they got Pearsall. I wanted him bad.' "
While there initially were mixed emotions amongst the 49ers Faithful with the Pearsall selection, Stroud's telling reaction should provide a little reassurance in regards to the newest member of the organization.
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