Rookie wide receivers are a 50/50 proposition when evaluating them for fantasy football, these two are even more volatile than the average, so this should be interesting. In this edition of the 2024 Rookie Faceoff, we compare two wide receivers who seemingly swapped ADP after a surprise rise and fall at the 2024 NFL Draft, Ricky Pearsall v Troy Franklin. To see where they both fall in our rankings, check out our Rookie Rankings Page. Also, check out the 2024 NFL Draft coverage to stay up-to-date. For the sake of this faceoff, we will be comparing the prospects in seven categories. Size, speed, route running, hands, college production, college dominator rating, draft capital, and landing spot. Welcome to the 2024 Rookie Faceoff: Ricky Pearsall v Troy Franklin.
This faceoff features two wide receiver prospects battling out in the second round of rookie drafts. Neither figures to factor into the first-round rookie draft scene, but both have plenty of upside. Let’s see which one will walk away victorious in this faceoff.
Meet Ricky Pearsall
Embed from Getty ImagesRicky Pearsall is an older prospect, at 23 years old. We do know that he spent five years playing college football before going pro. Pearsall displayed elite explosiveness at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. He posted a Vertical Jump score in the 98th percentile and a Broad Jump Score in the 92th percentile. The former Gator is a polarizing prospect who has gained significant steam since being selected at the tail end of the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He is an interesting prospect with three solid years of production to go back on.
Meet Troy Franklin
Embed from Getty ImagesTroy Franklin is the younger of these two as he is only 21.3 years old and spent only three seasons in college. He was also impressive at the NFL Combine, but not nearly as much as Pearsall. Franklin posted a Vertical Jump score in the 88th percentile and a Broad Jump score in the 70th percentile. He was once in the running for WR3 in this rookie class but after the NFL Draft plummeted. He fell to day three before being selected by the Denver Broncos and being reunited with Oregon Ducks teammates, quarterback Bo Nix.
Player Comparables
The two most relevant player comparisons for Pearsall and Franklin are big-time receiving prospects who have yet to make it big in the NFL. One of which has been categorized as a bust several years into his career while the other is on many sophomore breakout lists this year. Pearsall’s profile has him closest to Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, while Franklin is closest to former Carolina Panthers first-round wide receiver Terrace Marshall. At first glance, it would appear that Pearsall is the player to draft, but let’s take a look at the 2024 versions of them to see if one stands out more than the other.
Size Comparison
Pearsall checks in at 6’1″ and 189 lbs. While Troy Franklin checks in at 6’2″ and 176 lbs. This one is far from the usual cut-and-dry measurement. Franklin is one inch taller, while Pearsall is 12 lbs heavier making it a topic for debate.
In the end, I’m going to call this one a tie. Troy Franklin profiles more as an X-receiver therefore being taller will play to his strengths, while the one inch won’t make as much of a difference with Pearsall operating in a variety of different ways on the field, including the slot.
The two players are almost identical in overall size, and the negligible difference fits their expected role, so as I stated above, we will start with a tie in our first category.
Winner: Tie (0-0-1)
Speed Comparison
As far as speed goes, Troy Franklin runs a 4.41 second 40-yard Dash. Ironically, Ricky Pearsall runs a 4.41 second 40-yard Dash as well.
For our second consecutive category, we have two players that are too close to differentiate. Both players run 4.41 second 40-yard Dash and so we have our second consecutive tie category.
It’s interesting to see that despite one being taller and the other being heavier, we have identical speed ratings.
Winner: Tie (0-0-2)
Route Running
This is our third head-to-head category and we finally have one that didn’t end in a draw.
Troy Franklin graded out as 89% on short routes, 94% on intermediate routes, and 95% on deep throws, for an overall 93%. Ricky Pearsall on the other hand graded out as 84% on short routes, 93% on intermediate routes, and 93% on deep throws, for an overall 90%.
The takeaway here is that Franklin grades out slightly better than Pearsall on all three levels of the field. Both are solid route runners on short routes, but Franklin is slightly better. They are both also elite on intermediate and deep routes, but again Franklin is slightly better.
This category sees our first point awarded, and it goes to Troy Franklin.
Winner: Troy Franklin (1-0-2)
Hands
Not to be outdone by Franklin winning his first category, Pearsall will now claim his first. While the route-running category was a slim victory for Franklin, the hands category was a sizeable victory for Pearsall.
Pearsall’s hands across all levels of the field are just infinitely better. That’s not to say that Franklin has bad hands he has good hands grading out at 71%. Pearsall is just elite at catching the football, he graded out at 89% for a massive victory.
This victory by Pearsall is surprising as Franklin saw a large number of easier targets on short routes in a dink-and-dunk Oregon offense. In the end, Pearsall was still better and a more trustworthy pass-catcher.
Winner: Ricky Pearsall (1-1-2)
College Production
As far as production goes, Troy Franklin had only three years in college but produced elite numbers in two of the three seasons. His best season was 81 receptions, 1,383 yards, and 14 touchdowns.
Pearsall on the other hand, had a career season of 65 receptions, 965 yards, and four touchdowns in his fifth year.
It’s easy to see that with Franklin putting up 20 receptions, 400 yards, and 10 touchdowns more in his best season than Pearsall did, Franklin is the easy winner here.
Not only did Franklin have the better ceiling in college but he took far less time to begin producing as Pearsall started his career with two years of almost no productivity.
Winner: Troy Franklin (2-1-2)
College Dominator
During his time at The University of Oregon, Troy Franklin had a career dominator of 30.7%, while Pearsall posted a career dominator of 26.8% during his time at The University of Florida.
This category is a win for Franklin, and a surprising one to say the least. Franklin had more talent around him at Oregon than Pearsall did at Florida so a win for him in this category is massive. It goes to show just how impressive Franklin was and how much Bo Nix relied on him.
Winner: Troy Franklin (3-1-2)
Landing Spot & Draft Capital
Let’s start with the draft capital section because that is the easy part. Pearsall went in the first round with the 31st overall selection while Franklin slipped to the fourth-round and the 102nd overall pick. A definitive win by Pearsall to say the least.
Going into the draft, this scenario was expected to be reversed with Franklin potentially going in the first round and Pearsall going on day three but in the end, the reversal shocked the world.
The landing spots were a different story as Pearsall will need some breaks to see a sizeable role in the San Francisco 49ers offense. Franklin on the other hand goes to a struggling Denver Broncos team that could easily see him take the team lead in targets. Franklin wins the landing spot section, but it isn’t enough to overcome the one-sided draft capital.
So, it’s no surprise that our final category is an easy win for Ricky Pearsall who still falls short in the faceoff.
Winner: Ricky Pearsall (2-3-2)
And the Winner is…
The winner here is Troy Franklin by a score of 3-2-2. This is easily the tightest faceoff we’ve seen so far and is the first with multiple categories that resulted in a tie.
Ultimately, Troy Franklin won a narrow battle that saw both prospects highlight some of their larger flaws. I think Troy Franklin is the right pick if you are looking for a higher ceiling and an immediate return on investment, while Ricky Pearsall is the pick if you are looking for a long-term investment that is slightly safer.
If you would like to learn more about Pearsall and Franklin, check out our 2024 Rookie Sneak Peek videos of both players on The Fantasy Football Universe Podcast.
