49ers select De'Zhaun Stribling-WR-Ole Miss with the 33rd pick in the 2026 NFL Draft

Originally posted by ritz126:
i heard Crocker breakdown and it was very contrary to what Harmon's analysis of him was where they highlighted how his route breaking tree for inbreaking routes was very successful especially his dig curl and slants which Crocker said he wasn't great at

yeah man we will see! Hope he kills it

Originally posted by Sask49erFan:

Originally posted by NYniner85:
My guy Aiuyk could run some nasty routes coming out of ASU. Same with Ricky….With Stribling, I didn't see anything close to the route running ability that BA or Ricky has.

I understand we're trying to talk ourselves into the pick and I get the size speed combo but as a pure WR that you'd expect to get open via route running and having timing…he's pretty meh there.

Maybe a big slot with free releases and schemed up plays to get the ball in his hands, in no way or shape is that worth a top 33 pick plain and simple.

I knew the moment we keep moving down that they had talked themselves into a player they KNEW was gonna be available because it was gonna be a massive reach. Is what it is now. Hopefully he proves everyone wrong. I'm already hearing the TC reports of him not getting off press and his route running being massively underwhelming commentary.

Look at what he does well. There wasn't one player available at 27 who had the complete package. Pearsall had faults coming out. As did Aiuyk. Then they got into Shanahan's scheme and were dominant. Pearsall was #2 in receiving YPG before he got hurt last year. Aiuyk was dominant before he got hurt and lost his mind.

Speed : 4.36 - 40 yard dash. Ran away from a 4.38 corner in the Georgia game. The speed shows up on tape

Hands- (1.9 percent drop rate in 2025

Toughness- Elite blocker

YAC- He averaged 7.3 yards after catch per reception according to Pro Football Focus. He posted 6.7 YAC per reception in 2024, 5.9 in 2023 and 6.2 in 2022

Get the ball in this guys hands and he will make plays. Hitches, slants and go routes and he will make the 1st man miss like Deebo and has a chance to take it to the house. Speed like Aiuyk on the slants and crossing routes. Blocking and toughness like Jennings.

The easiest way to slow down that Seattle pass rush and NOT have them clog the LOS? Playmakers on the outside. Evans, Pearsall and Stribling vs Bourne, Robinson and Moore who we fielded in the playoffs. Let Seattle play that scheme they ran. Those 3 guys will feast vs that D. I'm calling it now.

The fun thing is that we can now track EWM to see if he would have been the correct pick. There are a few others as well, but its always fun to go back and see which HOF player we passed on. Like Solomon Thomas over P. Mahomes for example.

Originally posted by glorydayz:
The fun thing is that we can now track EWM to see if he would have been the correct pick. There are a few others as well, but its always fun to go back and see which HOF player we passed on. Like Solomon Thomas over P. Mahomes for example.

Shadow drafts is fun too look at too for all the scoldings we get from the "we don't know anything" and "Lynch/Shanny know way more about everything" then we do crowd

Originally posted by 49ers808:

Originally posted by glorydayz:
The fun thing is that we can now track EWM to see if he would have been the correct pick. There are a few others as well, but its always fun to go back and see which HOF player we passed on. Like Solomon Thomas over P. Mahomes for example.

Shadow drafts is fun too look at too for all the scoldings we get from the "we don't know anything" and "Lynch/Shanny know way more about everything" then we do crowd

Yea I like that too.

Crazy thing is, with todays technology scouting should be simple. Film is crystal clear and can be sent out at the click of a button.
Incorrect player evaluation today says a lot about the people doing the evaluating. Bill Walsh had to watch film on a VHS, grainy film or he had to fly out to see prospects in person and he was better at this than any evaluator doing it today. Today's evaluators make the draft seem like a casino.

I don't know what it is, but something is ruining the player evaluation process.

See; Brady, Purdy, Mahomes, to name a few and the players that were selected before them.

Originally posted by glorydayz:

Originally posted by Sask49erFan:

Originally posted by NYniner85:
My guy Aiuyk could run some nasty routes coming out of ASU. Same with Ricky….With Stribling, I didn't see anything close to the route running ability that BA or Ricky has.

I understand we're trying to talk ourselves into the pick and I get the size speed combo but as a pure WR that you'd expect to get open via route running and having timing…he's pretty meh there.

Maybe a big slot with free releases and schemed up plays to get the ball in his hands, in no way or shape is that worth a top 33 pick plain and simple.

I knew the moment we keep moving down that they had talked themselves into a player they KNEW was gonna be available because it was gonna be a massive reach. Is what it is now. Hopefully he proves everyone wrong. I'm already hearing the TC reports of him not getting off press and his route running being massively underwhelming commentary.

Look at what he does well. There wasn't one player available at 27 who had the complete package. Pearsall had faults coming out. As did Aiuyk. Then they got into Shanahan's scheme and were dominant. Pearsall was #2 in receiving YPG before he got hurt last year. Aiuyk was dominant before he got hurt and lost his mind.

Speed : 4.36 - 40 yard dash. Ran away from a 4.38 corner in the Georgia game. The speed shows up on tape

Hands- (1.9 percent drop rate in 2025

Toughness- Elite blocker

YAC- He averaged 7.3 yards after catch per reception according to Pro Football Focus. He posted 6.7 YAC per reception in 2024, 5.9 in 2023 and 6.2 in 2022

Get the ball in this guys hands and he will make plays. Hitches, slants and go routes and he will make the 1st man miss like Deebo and has a chance to take it to the house. Speed like Aiuyk on the slants and crossing routes. Blocking and toughness like Jennings.

The easiest way to slow down that Seattle pass rush and NOT have them clog the LOS? Playmakers on the outside. Evans, Pearsall and Stribling vs Bourne, Robinson and Moore who we fielded in the playoffs. Let Seattle play that scheme they ran. Those 3 guys will feast vs that D. I'm calling it now.

The fun thing is that we can now track EWM to see if he would have been the correct pick. There are a few others as well, but its always fun to go back and see which HOF player we passed on. Like Solomon Thomas over P. Mahomes for example.

Mahomes was most likely not even on 49ers radar (absolutely should have been). He was always on KCs radar which is why they traded up to get him.

Originally posted by Sask49erFan:
Look at what he does well. There wasn't one player available at 27 who had the complete package. Pearsall had faults coming out. As did Aiuyk. Then they got into Shanahan's scheme and were dominant. Pearsall was #2 in receiving YPG before he got hurt last year. Aiuyk was dominant before he got hurt and lost his mind.

Speed : 4.36 - 40 yard dash. Ran away from a 4.38 corner in the Georgia game. The speed shows up on tape

Hands- (1.9 percent drop rate in 2025

Toughness- Elite blocker

YAC- He averaged 7.3 yards after catch per reception according to Pro Football Focus. He posted 6.7 YAC per reception in 2024, 5.9 in 2023 and 6.2 in 2022

Get the ball in this guys hands and he will make plays. Hitches, slants and go routes and he will make the 1st man miss like Deebo and has a chance to take it to the house. Speed like Aiuyk on the slants and crossing routes. Blocking and toughness like Jennings.

The easiest way to slow down that Seattle pass rush and NOT have them clog the LOS? Playmakers on the outside. Evans, Pearsall and Stribling vs Bourne, Robinson and Moore who we fielded in the playoffs. Let Seattle play that scheme they ran. Those 3 guys will feast vs that D. I'm calling it now.

Look I've been very clear that this is a bad draft overall the talent level is meh… There was a clear tier in this WR class and imo he wasn't part of it.

I understand the size and speed tangibles, that's not gonna be the thing that gets you to the next level….His route running overall is subpar and its not like he's a 21 yr old.

you're comparing Ricky and BA who were on a different level as route runners compared to DS. You gotta figure out how to get open in this league. Running a bunch of hitch routes isn't gonna cut it.

the easiest way to beat Seattle's D is to have guys that can separate and win their routes quickly.

Originally posted by glorydayz:
The fun thing is that we can now track EWM to see if he would have been the correct pick. There are a few others as well, but its always fun to go back and see which HOF player we passed on. Like Solomon Thomas over P. Mahomes for example.

I mean everyone passed on EWM (multiple times) so that's not a great example imo.

I think a better one is Cooper or Boston vs Stribling.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by glorydayz:
The fun thing is that we can now track EWM to see if he would have been the correct pick. There are a few others as well, but its always fun to go back and see which HOF player we passed on. Like Solomon Thomas over P. Mahomes for example.

I mean everyone passed on EWM (multiple times) so that's not a great example imo.

I think a better one is Cooper or Boston vs Stribling.

ya i was super suprised i really loved him

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by glorydayz:
The fun thing is that we can now track EWM to see if he would have been the correct pick. There are a few others as well, but its always fun to go back and see which HOF player we passed on. Like Solomon Thomas over P. Mahomes for example.

I mean everyone passed on EWM (multiple times) so that's not a great example imo.

I think a better one is Cooper or Boston vs Stribling.

Our GM said that he only cares about what the guys in our building think, and I agree with him.

I don't care about what everyone else did, Lions not sheep.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Albert Breer says several top level offensive coordinators around the league are high on De'Zhaun Stribling:

"The 49ers got killed for taking Ole Miss WR De'Zhaun Stribling at 33, and I get it. When fans have been looking at mocks for two months, and their team picks someone… pic.twitter.com/YO9JpvvYBY

— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) April 27, 2026

That's that good good I like to see!
do we have someone that's #1?

most of these guys will change numbers after camp cuts anyways

Originally posted by NYniner85:
My guy Aiuyk could run some nasty routes coming out of ASU. Same with Ricky….With Stribling, I didn't see anything close to the route running ability that BA or Ricky has.

I understand we're trying to talk ourselves into the pick and I get the size speed combo but as a pure WR that you'd expect to get open via route running and having timing…he's pretty meh there.

Maybe a big slot with free releases and schemed up plays to get the ball in his hands, in no way or shape is that worth a top 33 pick plain and simple.

I knew the moment we keep moving down that they had talked themselves into a player they KNEW was gonna be available because it was gonna be a massive reach. Is what it is now. Hopefully he proves everyone wrong. I'm already hearing the TC reports of him not getting off press and his route running being massively underwhelming commentary.

Totally disagree with you on Stribling. I think he's more than capable route runner. Actually why i like him more than Boston for us.

Love the 1st three words in your post. Actually your whole first sentence. As Aiyuk wasn't your guy because you didn't think he could run routes or beat press coverage because thats what the internet kept telling you. Yet when you watch his film and not just highlights it proved otherwise.

That's the same thing with Stribling. Watching him live and the only all 22 clip of him on YouTube you can see he can run routes and get open. Actually see him open plenty without getting a target.

In the Georgia clips he may not have been asked to run alot of routes from the LoS but when he was asked to he was getting open.

I do agree that we drafted him earlier than I would have wanted. Ironically Aiyuk was my guy and I thought he was over drafted as well. Only for us to find out after the draft that another team wanted him and he wouldn't have made it to our pick had we not moved up. So sometimes you just never know

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by Giedi:
I think his speed alone will scare press man coverage back a bit, specially with rub routs and maybe Mike Evans/Pearsall screening the DB's away from pressing Stribling. Point being we'll see if he can learn the route tree and run the routes that Aiyuk did. Its a gamble, but it's the mental part that we fans just don't have info on and they do, on whether or not Stribling can pick up the offense.

I like the fact he's a bigger receiver and, in my opinion, bigger receivers tend to be more durable. Jauan Jennings is an example. Sometimes availability is a talent in itself too. I'm hoping they did a good job drafting players the injury bug will be too scared to bite.

Boy I recommend watching Crocker's breakdown on him with some film. He's very objective on players and overall its not very good. I agree with a lot of what he's saying and it why I didn't understand the top 64 talk about this kid prior to the draft (let alone 33rd overall).

The team doesn't teach them how to run routes. That's something he has to learn how to do. He will need off season coaching and at this point in his football career (5 yrs in college) you gotta be more polished at it imo.

also it's not learning the route tree, I'm sure he can figure out how to run whatever Kyle wants him to run, it's him being able to run it well, that's the issue. Footwork and timing matter a ton…hopefully he magically changes and proves everyone wrong

Isn't Crocker a DB?

But I did take a look at some of Stribling's highlights. They were impressive. A lot of dig routes but that's probably because defenses were scared of his speed, which I think he'll scare defenses the same way in the NFL. Defenses have to respect that speed of his. His position coaches will teach him how to run routes, example Mike McDaniel would show his receivers basketball tapes of guys like Stephan Curry doing crossover dribbles to teach his WR's how to wrongfoot DB's on press man coverage.

He'll either learn how to run Kyle's routes and learn how to break press man coverage, or he'll be cut. Simple. But overall, I like his size, speed, hands, YAC, and short area agility and if he has trouble breaking press man there's routes he can run that avoids press-man, considering Mike Evans, Pearsall (when healthy) are on the team. Timing with Purdy will come as long as he stays healthy. Those just takes a lot of reps and time to get it down. Stribling is only 23, he's still learning the game and will still have a long and potentially productive career at that age. He's not a 25 year old rookie like some of the other 2026 picks.

Always a WR for Shany. Who needs offensive line or coverage safety when you can get yet another WR on a big reach?

Originally posted by NYniner85:
Boy I recommend watching Crocker's breakdown on him with some film. He's very objective on players and overall its not very good. I agree with a lot of what he's saying and it why I didn't understand the top 64 talk about this kid prior to the draft (let alone 33rd overall).

The team doesn't teach them how to run routes. That's something he has to learn how to do. He will need off season coaching and at this point in his football career (5 yrs in college) you gotta be more polished at it imo.

also it's not learning the route tree, I'm sure he can figure out how to run whatever Kyle wants him to run, it's him being able to run it well, that's the issue. Footwork and timing matter a ton…hopefully he magically changes and proves everyone wrong

When Crocker said he started to get the same feelings watching Stribling as he did Danny Grey... What a pick!