XFL standout Jahcour Pearson has made a stunning first impression as he bids to earn an NFL contract with the San Francisco 49ers.
The former Ole Miss wide receiver was named the Offensive Player of the Year in the XFL this season, shining for the Seattle Sea Dragons with a league-leading 670 receiving yards and four touchdowns in 10 games, leading his team to the North Division Championship where they lost out to the DC Defenders.
Pearson, short in stature for the position at 5ft 7in, went undrafted in 2022 after a modest season for Ole Miss and he was unable to secure a contract as a free agent, but he joined the XFL and took his chance to impress with an impressive highlight reel of eye-catching plays in Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's new league.
The 24-year-old received invitations to join the Indianapolis Colts and the Atlanta Falcons as a tryout player for their rookie minicamps, but the speedster has been seen working with the 49ers in practice footage leaked on social media.
He exploded off the line of the scrimmage at his own 40-yard line after a stutter step, streaking away from his man by more than five yards by the time he dived inside the 20 to grab hold of the pass, with the deep safety scrambling across in vain to intervene.
The play, filmed on a phone by someone watching a monitor, has made a big splash on social media with hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter, and Pearson's sensational speed is sure to have caught the eye of the 49ers coaches, who may have their hands on a rough diamond.
Pearson was an unremarkable player on the field in college, transferring from Western Kentucky to Ole Miss for his senior year and he caught 26 passes for 392 yards and no touchdowns.
But there was interest in his sheer speed as a prospect heading into the XFL draft in January. He ran a solid yet unspectacular 4.42 over the 40-yard dash in his Ole Miss pro day in 2022, but when he tried out for the XFL, Seattle coach Jim Haslett reportedly clocked Pearson at an electric 4.28, faster than Miami Dolphins superstar Tyreek Hill.
The 49ers have a better record than most teams when it comes to finding underrated talent, most notably with the success of seventh-round draft pick Brock Purdy last season when he replaced the injured Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, leading the team to the NFC Championship game before he suffered an elbow injury.
It remains to be seen whether Pearson will receive a contract offer from the 49ers, but with the playmaking ability he has shown in the XFL and in his brief time working with head coach Kyle Shanahan's staff, he will surely find himself on a 90-man roster somewhere in the NFL when training camps get underway later this summer.
