The 49ers wasted little time addressing the WR position on Friday evening, selecting Ole Miss WR De’Zhaun Stribling with the No. 33 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Stribling has serious speed and will have an opportunity to contribute right away with the departures of Jauan Jennings and Brandon Aiyuk.
DE’ZHAUN STRIBLING
- Stribling is well-built and fast, with 6-foot-2, 207-pound size and 4.36 wheels at wide receiver. He spent two years at Washington State and two years at Oklahoma State before making his way to Ole Miss for his final college campaign. Stribling took four years to register an analytical breakout with a 31% Dominator Rating in 2024 at Oklahoma State before sinking back to a 20% DR in his final season in Oxford with increased target competition on a playoff-bound roster. Dane Brugler notes that he has good acceleration and quickness out of his breaks, but he needs to work on his route running to succeed in the pros (per Brugler, hitches and go routes made up 57% of his routes last season).
- Stribling got better-than-expected draft capital and doesn’t boast an overly impressive analytical profile, but an early Round 2 pick landing in a Kyle Shanahan offense has some intrigue, particularly given his target competition is an aging Mike Evans and Christian Kirk, along with Ricky Pearsall, who hasn’t proven himself as a dependable option yet in the pros. Both Evans and Kirk had major per-target efficiency struggles last year, and all three of Evans, Kirk, and Pearsall have an injury history. Stribling won’t have a major role handed to him right away, particularly with Shanahan’s history of veteran deference. Still, there will be plenty of opportunities throughout the season for him to earn a legit role in one of the more efficient offenses in the league. Kirk is the easiest WR to beat out for snaps, but that would require Stribling to play in the slot with Evans and Pearsall as primarily outside WRs (or kicking Evans/Pearsall in there) since Kirk played 71% of his snaps in the slot last year. Nate Tice did note that Stribling is in contention for the best run-blocking WR in the class; that could help him get on the field early in a run-focused San Francisco offense.
- At the end of the day, the Niners frankly needed WR help with Evans, Pearsall, and Kirk all as major injury risks. It’s unclear what Stribling’s role will look like in Week 1, but there should be a path to snaps at some point. Whether he’s capable of earning targets in the pros is a different question altogether, however, and the pass-catching profile for an early second-round WR is pretty underwhelming.
OTHER 49ERS RECEIVERS
- Evans had efficiency struggles in 2025 at just 6.0 yards per target, and he’s played only 22 games over the last two years combined. He also turns 33 years old in August. With that being said, he still commanded targets at an elite rate (0.29 targets per route run) last year and remains the unquestioned WR1 in San Francisco if healthy (that’s a big if).
- Pearsall quietly averaged 10.0 yards per target last season, but he only played nine games and failed to score a touchdown. Still, he’s a former first-round pick with impressive per-target efficiency to begin his pro career; he simply needs to become a more consistent option. The Stribling addition is more target competition, but Pearsall should hold onto the WR2 spot here as long as he stays healthy. With that being said, the decision to invest early Round 2 draft capital into a WR might demonstrate what the 49ers think about Pearsall’s odds of staying healthy.
- Kirk averaged a paltry 4.6 yards per target last year — that’s running back efficiency — and he’s played only 21 games over the last two years. Stribling may push him right away, and Kirk is not fantasy-relevant.
- The big question mark for San Fran is when we can expect George Kittle to return to the field. Kittle tore his Achilles in January and turns 33 in October. He noted post-injury that it was the best-case scenario for an Achilles injury with a clean tear and straightforward surgery, but it’s still a very serious injury at his age. Kittle likely won’t be back in Week 1 but will contend for the team lead in targets if/when he’s back at 100%. Unless Stribling is far better than expected right away, he shouldn’t have much impact on Kittle’s outlook.
