The San Francisco 49ers took a wide receiver with their first pick for the second time in three years, as they selected Ole Miss wideout De’Zhaun Stribling with the No. 33 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
San Francisco initially held the No. 27 pick, but was able to facilitate two trade downs to move back to No. 33 and take the player they were targeting at their original spot with Stribling. Now, the selection came with a bit of controversy, as Stribling was a perceived reach by the media, in part because
of his age (24) and raw ability.
But the 49ers were in need of a wideout for the future, as Mike Evans and Christian Kirk are both not long-term options, while Ricky Pearsall has dealt with injuries over his first two years. In comes Stribling, who is a good fit for the 49ers with his size, speed, blocking, and ability to work after the catch.
With Evans, Kirk, and Pearsall ahead of him in 2026, it’s unclear exactly how much Stribling will factor in as a rookie. But quarterback Brock Purdy believes in his rookie wideout and thinks he’ll make an immediate impact.
“Yeah, rookies are in, we’re all working,” Purdy said. “Stribling’s a guy that, same thing, like, has a lot of raw talent. And just throwing routes on there and stuff to him and getting a feel for how he moves and his speed. He’s a guy that, you know, once we obviously get him in the playbook a lot and get reps with each other on the field, I feel like he’s going to be a guy that can come in and make an instant impact.
“And so, Kyle [Shanahan] and Leonard [Hankerson] have done a really good job with just developing receivers and stuff. So to have him in the fold with the great receiving corps that we have right now, it’s amazing as a quarterback. I’m like, let’s go.”
Stribling isn’t the young receiver in the room. On top of him and Pearsall, the 49ers will be hoping for more from Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins, who have also dealt with injuries to start their careers. That makes this practice time ahead of the season that much more valuable for the rapport with Purdy.
“I think [reps] makes a difference for sure,” Purdy said. “Obviously getting reps on air, how certain guys move. Ricky Pearsall and Jake Cowing are two different guys, and they run differently. Jake Tonges is different. All these guys, they move differently.
“So to be able to draw back and understand, ‘hey, I got to get this ball out quick because this guy’s going to get out of his cut quick, or this guy takes a little bit longer, but he’s going to create separation at the last second.’ Those are things that I need to learn and we all need to learn and get on the same page with. Early offseason and training camp and then in the heat of battle once we get in season. So I think it’s a real thing. But at the end of the day, it is football too, where you can’t overthink things, and you got to go out there and play and find a way.”
The 49ers need more production from their wide receivers this season after some inconsistent results last year. They obviously expect a lot from Mike Evans, but if secondary players like Stribling show up early, that’s a good sign for things to come.
