With the 33rd overall pick in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers selected wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling from Ole Miss.
Despite receiver being a need for the 49ers, team writer Grant Cohn is calling out Kyle Shanahan and the team for the move, labeling it a move worse than the Los Angeles Rams’ eyebrow-raising Ty Simpson pick on Day 1.
49ers’ De’Zhaun Stribling Draft Selection Criticized
In his final collegiate season, Stribling caught 55 receptions for 811 receiving yards and six touchdowns for the Rebels. In PFSN’s College Football Wide Receiver Impact Metric, he ranked as the 87th-best wide receiver with an impact score of 78.0 and a letter grade of C+.
Across his entire collegiate career which spanned five seasons (also with Washington State University and Oklahoma State University), Stribling caught a total of 216 passes for 2,964 receiving yards and 23 touchdowns.
Despite wide receiver being a position of need, not all 49ers fans were fans of the pick. Here’s what 49ers writer Cohn had to say on the move:
“The 49ers just pulled off the reach of all reaches. They took Ole Miss wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling with the 33rd overall pick. This guy was projected to get taken in round three at the earliest. Most people had him getting taken in round four and the Niners took him in the beginning of round 2 after trading down twice.”
Cohn then compared it to the Rams’ Simpson selection:
“This just seems like such a classic reach for the 49ers, and it’s full of hubris. You know the other pick that had a lot of hubris was Ty Simpson to the Rams at 13. This is a reach, a bigger reach, this is a worse pick than Ty Simpson. I hate to be negative, I liked what the Niners were doing, they lost me on this one. I give this pick a D.”
Instant reaction to the 49ers drafting De’Zhaun Stribling. pic.twitter.com/7sr8brcp2f
— Grant Cohn (@grantcohn) April 24, 2026
In PFSN’s Jacob Infante’s Round 2-7 mock draft, he predicted the Carolina Panthers to pick Stribling with the 83rd overall pick. PFSN’s mock draft user data had Stribling’s ADP at 121.1.
This offseason, the 49ers made significant additions to their wide receiver room by adding Christian Kirk and longtime Tampa Bay Buccaneer Mike Evans. Last season, the 49ers’ offense ranked fourth in the league, with an impact score of 85.2 and a letter grade of B in PFSN’s NFL Offensive Impact Metric. These moves, along with the addition of Stribling, only make the offense even stronger.
Regardless, the move by the 49ers was deemed a reach, especially since there were other and arguably better receivers on the board like Denzel Boston and Germie Bernard. Alas, Shanahan is one of the best offense-minded coaches in the league, and he’ll surely find a way to have Stribling make an impact.
