Well, the 49ers’ first pick of the 2026 draft, wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling, just keeps looking better and better.
On Thursday, against the Tennessee Titans, Stribling hauled in seven catches for 63 yards. In the first half. Sure, we can make all the jokes we want about it being preseason, but that doesn’t happen very often. In fact, it’s only happened once in the last decade. Stribling is the second receiver in the past decade to catch seven passes in the first 20 minutes.
Look, I know useless stats can be exhausting sometimes. Especially when, during a game, it seems like new stats are invented every five seconds—but I will gladly take this one. Now that’s not to say Stribling wasn’t perfect. He missed a block early and dropped a pass (his one target that didn’t turn into a reception). He also has some work to do on his route-running. All three of these things can be coached up.
“Thought he struggled a little bit on the first drive,” Kyle Shanahan said following the game. “But I think he got three drives after that. It seemed as if he executed on all the stuff that went to him.”
The 49ers’ other pass catcher, Mike Evans, was on the sideline for the first preseason game of the season. Maybe you forgot about him. That’s ok, Stribling looked that good. Now toss him in with Deebo Samuel and Evans and that seems like a decent trio. One that lost Jauan Jennings to free agency.
While Stribling missed a block, it doesn’t seem like he’ll lack the physicality or shy away from it.
“I liked how his hands looked out there and played physical,” Shanahan said.
Shanahan said that they are switching things up for Stribling and he won’t be primarily in the slot. If he has that versatility, he’ll be even more of a steal than the second round where the 49ers got him. And maybe polarizing reaction will be negated.
Now Stribling just needs to stay on the field. He was kept out of practice for a few days and has been back for about a week. The 49ers haven’t had much luck lately with their early-pick rookies getting a full season of reps. Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (selected in 2024) was in and out of the lineup in 2024, and defensive lineman Mykel Williams (selected in 2025) suffered a torn ACL in Week 9 last year.
If he can stay on the field, Shanahan is optimistic:
“Hopefully he can string together two more of these weeks, because he’s going about it the right way and as long as he gets those reps and continues to do what he’s been doing, he should be ready for the season.”
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