The San Francisco 49ers are going to listen to offers for Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, but they’re not married to the idea of trading either of them. Selecting Florida receiver Ricky Pearsall, though, does give them a little more flexibility.

At a baseline, taking Pearsall with the 31st pick is a play for 2025. The team has Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings going into contract years, with Samuel signed through ’26. One way or the other, all three won’t be around a year from now, so getting top-end talent in the pipeline now makes sense for a team that doesn’t have many immediate needs.

The 49ers did look at the idea of trading back five or 10 spots for Pearsall. But chose not to due to the tackle supply running thin, a number of receiver-needy teams right behind them (Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Commanders could take one, too) and Xavier Worthy getting picked by the Kansas City Chiefs in front of them. Second, there was the benefit of getting the fifth-year option on Pearsall.

On the second point, you’d normally associate that concept with quarterbacks, but the events of the past week helped tip the scale here, with Amon-Ra St. Brown getting $28 million per year and A.J. Brown getting $32 million per, and Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase megadeals coming down the pike (eventually). Having the option helps the 49ers with Aiyuk (a late first-rounder in 2020), and lacking it hurts with Samuel (a high second-rounder in ’19), so there’s another reason for San Francisco to want it with Pearsall.

With Brock Purdy on his rookie contract, the Niners could easily keep everyone. But they could also move someone, and it could be Samuel, who might be more tradeable with the terms left on his contract, with a plan to keep Aiyuk, who’s viewed as the team’s best pure receiver. Either way, having Pearsall, who drew some comparisons to Adam Thielen with the team, gives San Francisco options.

So we’ll see how the next few hours work out.