SANTA CLARA — 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak has high expectations for both Ricky Pearsall and Jacob Cowing as they approach their second NFL season.
“I think everybody who’s coming back, all of us, all the position coaches, myself, we’ve had conversations with guys, we’ve set the expectations for them,” Kubiak said Thursday. “I don’t want to single out players, but you think of the younger guys who were maybe rookies last year, guys like Ricky and Jake who did really good things. And there’s always a jump in your second year."
Both Pearsall and Cowing made moderate contributions in 2024, but now without Deebo Samuel, who was traded to the Washington Commanders and Brandon Aiyuk’s timeline to return from an ACL injury uncertain, the 49ers will need more from the two young receivers.
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“No matter if you’re [George] Kittle and you’ve been around, or you’re a younger guy, there’s always kind of a resetting and defining what we expect going into the year.”
Pearsall was on the field for 455 offensive plays, or 68 percent, in his rookie campaign, while Cowing was seen for only 106 plays on offense and 64 with the special teams unit as a returner. In order to prepare for their second year in the league, the two receivers, who both are from Arizona, already have worked out together during their time away from Santa Clara.
“It’s so important for young players to show up to the offseason, just ready to get better,” Kubiak said. “They’re in great shape. They can take these limited practices that we have with them to grow and get better. And Jake is doing a great job. He’s had a great offseason. He’s given himself a chance to get to camp and compete and to really contribute on offense.”
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“We’ll get Jake as much involved as he shows his growth and development and what kind of camp he has. And Jake has done an outstanding job of showing up to our offseason in great shape and he’s getting better.”
Pearsall saw setbacks in his rookie campaign early in the offseason program with both hamstring and shoulder injuries. When finally healthy, the first-round draft pick was shot during an attempted robbery on Labor Day weekend that kept him out of the first six weeks of the season.
Cowing was sidelined with a hamstring injury during his rookie training camp, which also slowed his acclimation to Kyle Shanahan’s complex offensive scheme.
“Both those guys were similar because they kind of had setbacks in the [2023] offseason,” Kubiak said. “Jake had an injury, Ricky had his issues in the offseason, so there was kind of a slow progression into the season for different reasons. And we expect both of those guys to keep improving the way they are, and to be big contributors for us.”
“I think they trained a lot together this offseason and they look awesome. It’s just physically they’re out there and they’re getting better every day.”