The San Francisco 49ers got some unfortunate injury news regarding second-round pick De’Zhaun Stribling this week, as the rookie wideout will be out for close to 10 weeks after undergoing ankle surgery.
Stribling had been poised for a key role in San Francisco’s offense, and that was reflected in his early playing time, as he led the 49ers in snaps at wide receiver prior to his injury. He had been playing over Deebo Samuel in two-receiver sets, and was set for a big role following Ricky Pearsall’s
injury in training camp.
The 49ers drafted eight rookies back in the 2026 NFL Draft, with six of them seeing action in Week 1. While Stribling’s week was cut short, how did the rest of the group do?
Romello Height played 30 snaps with San Francisco short-handed up front. He rushed the passer on 18 of them and ended without a pressure. Gracen Halton stepped into a big role as well, playing 31 snaps at defensive tackle, ranking second at the position only to Osa Odighizuwa.
Kaelon Black got a big role, going for 65 yards on 14 carries, while seeing 28 snaps to Christian McCaffrey’s 36. While McCaffrey nearly doubled him in routes run, Black still ran 12 routes, while also being tasked with pass protection.
Fifth-round pick Jaden Dugger saw a huge role in Week 1, playing 34 snaps as the 49ers No. 3 linebacker behind Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw. He was moved around a ton, playing 21 snaps in the box and 11 snaps on the line, according to PFF.
Carver Willis only had a special teams role, while Ephesians Prysock and Enrique Cruz both did not play.
What did Kyle Shanahan think about his rookies in Week 1?
“I thought they all played well,” Shanahan said. “Especially losing Alfred [Collins] early in the week, losing Sam [Okuayinonu] early in the week, Gracen just coming back from a high ankle, so that was his first week of practice. James [Thompson] just coming back from a hamstring. He didn’t practice until that Friday, so he got a walk-through in before.
“So, I was really impressed with the young guys on defense just being ready for the game. And same guys on offense. Just with Kaelon Black, I thought he did well. And Stribling, even though he didn’t get to play much, he was so prepared for the game. That was real impressive from all the rookies.”
Dugger’s role was an interesting one, as the 49ers have praised his versatility and looked to get him a lot of snaps in the preseason. Shanahan was quite pleased with his performance.
“Dugger I thought played real well,” Shanahan added. “We got him a lot of playing time during the training camp. A lot of playing time in all three of our preseason games. I thought this was his best game so far, so I was really impressed.”
Meanwhile, Carver Willis didn’t play after the 49ers had yet to announce a left guard heading into last week. Shanahan said that Connor Colby’s body of work during the week made him the starter with no rotation at guard for Week 1.
