There aren’t any rules in the NFL Draft process; a team can meet with a player several times or never speak with them, but in the end, a team can opt to draft a player, and that’s exactly what happened with the San Francisco 49ers and their new wide receiver, De’Zhaun Stribling.
Now, Sports Illustrated’a Grant Cohn has some strong feelings on the pick.
49ers Writer Not a Fan of De’Zhaun Stribling Selection
The 49ers had the No. 33 overall pick in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft, which marked their first of the three-day-long affair.
They originally held pick No. 27 and traded back to No. 30 with the Miami Dolphins in a deal that also included the 49ers trading No. 138 for the Dolphins’ No. 90.
Then, at No. 30 overall, the 49ers traded back again for the New York Jets to come back into the first round for wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. That deal included No. 30 for No. 33 and No. 179.
Thus, the 49ers were able to kick off the second round, and after receiving calls for the pick, they opted to stick and pick and take Stribling at No. 33 overall.
As mentioned, though, Cohn wasn’t a fan of the pick.
“De’Zhaun Stribling just said he has never met John Lynch or Kyle Shanahan.
“This is worse than the Ty Simpson pick,” he wrote on X.
Cohn also upgraded his live grades for the 49ers, giving this pick a “D.”
“This is a mega reach. Stribling was projected to get picked in Round 3 or 4 by most scouting services. He’s big and fast; he is a YAC threat and can block, but he’s not a good route runner, didn’t have a ton of production in college, and he’ll be 24 in December. The 49ers should have taken a guard, which the Cardinals did with the next pick. This is a head scratcher,” Cohn said.
As for the fit, Stribling will step right in and be the WR4 with a chance to overtake Christian Kirk as one of the 49ers’ outside receivers to complement Mike Evans. Kirk, 29, recorded a PFSN WR Impact score of 59.5 last season, which was 111th in the NFL. As for Stribling, he had a 78.0 grade in the SEC, good enough for 87th among college wideouts. That said, Stribling has great size at just over 6’2″, and he exploded at the NFL Scouting Combine, recording a 4.36 40-yard dash and a 10’7″ broad jump.
Despite the profile, PFSN’s Football Debate Club called it a “head scratcher,” with Ian Cummings and Jacob Infante having him at No. 180 and No. 200 on their respective personal boards. PFSN’s mock draft user data pegged Stribling’s ADP at 121.1.
In taking Stribling, this all but signals that any possible reunion between the 49ers and Jauan Jennings, who’s still one of the better free-agent wide receivers, is unlikely to happen.
This past season, Stribling, a fifth-year player who previously played for Washington State and Oklahoma State, caught 55 passes for 811 yards and six touchdowns with the Rebels.
