There was something bordering on panic when it was announced the San Francisco 49ers selected wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling with the No. 33 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft.
San Francisco moved out of the spot that Indiana WR Omar Cooper was selected. Then they took Stribling with Washington WR Denzel Boston still on the board. Both players were tied to the 49ers in the leadup to the draft, so the fact they selected neither and opted for a previously off-the-radar choice was jarring.
For Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer it wasn’t a real shock. Breer wrote in SI that he sensed entering the draft that Stribling was tabbed to go early in the second round despite a lack of chatter about him in that area of multi-round mocks.
“If you would have asked me before the draft began when I thought the Ole Miss receiver would be drafted,” Breer wrote, “I’d have guessed he’d go 35th to the Titans.”
Breer also noted “Stribling was more highly thought of than the public knew.”
It would’ve been interesting to see what the reaction to the selection would’ve been had this information come out prior to the draft. Breer points to Central Florida edge rusher Malachi Lawrence as a late riser who went to the Cowboys at No. 23 overall. That wasn’t a surprise because Lawrence became a popular first-round name in the pre-draft process.
That never happened with Stribling, so the selection was widely panned.
Breer shed some light on how the 49ers arrived at their decision to select Stribling, and how head coach Kyle Shanahan has a very clear vision for how the 33rd overall pick will fit in his offense.
“They saw a big receiver who ran 4.36 at the combine,” Breer wrote. “They saw a player who came on late, starring in the playoffs, and talked to ex-Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, who conceded he was late to the party on Stribling, which limited him a bit early in the year, and that his offensive coordinator, Charlie Weis Jr., saw a special talent right away. They then went back deeper into his tape from Oklahoma State and saw more in-breaking routes, and Washington State, where they saw him star in the screen game. A more complete picture was coalescing.”
The more versatile route tree was likely all Shanahan and general manager John Lynch needed to circle Stribling as their guy. He run blocks like a tight end and brings the intangible qualities that earned him the team’s “gold helmet” designation.
As more information comes out about Stribling it’s becoming more and more difficult to classify the 49ers’ selection as a “reach,” even if the public analysts believed it was.
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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers draft picks: Insider reveals De’Zhaun Stribling’s actual value