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

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

Were they:

A. Not a reach. The league liked them more than the outside.

B. A light reach. The league liked them a little more but they were also taken a little early.

C. A true reach. Most teams likely did not have player ranked in the ballpark they were selected.

— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) April 28, 2026

Trying to not let this make me get upset all over again....

5 other front offices calling Stribling a reach? Wild if true.

statistically 3 to 4 of these on the list wont make it in the NFL....

Approximately 53% to 60% of drafted NFL players make an active roster in their first year, but the long-term success rate is much lower. Only about 30% of drafted players become significant contributors, and only roughly 8% are considered high-value, impact players over their careers.

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by NYniner85:
We all like takes that fit what we want, I'm not saying Crocker is right or wrong. I'm not gonna label him bad at evaluating players because he played DB in the NFL either.

He's an interesting prospects for sure. Some people are saying he's an excellent route runner some are saying he isn't lol. Probably somewhere in the middle. He's an older prospect so how much more will he develop?

Also I think folks have different things they want in their WR. Me I like twitchy separators. Good feet that can beat man. Others like speed guys or big WRs that can go up and get it and block. There's no right or wrong.

Absolutely agree. John Madden won with Marve Hubbard and monstrously massive blockers in front of him. A modern version of a Madden team in my opinion would be Baltimore and Lamar Jackson running for TD's. If Lamar wouldn't implode in the playoffs - they'd have had a good shot at one more championship.

For me when you're spending up on a WR I have certain expectations.

if you're claim to fame is blocking and running fast. That's not something that you need to spend a top 33 pick on. Come training camp I want to hear about him running good routes and separating vs NFL QBs.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by NYniner85:
We all like takes that fit what we want, I'm not saying Crocker is right or wrong. I'm not gonna label him bad at evaluating players because he played DB in the NFL either.

He's an interesting prospects for sure. Some people are saying he's an excellent route runner some are saying he isn't lol. Probably somewhere in the middle. He's an older prospect so how much more will he develop?

Also I think folks have different things they want in their WR. Me I like twitchy separators. Good feet that can beat man. Others like speed guys or big WRs that can go up and get it and block. There's no right or wrong.

Absolutely agree. John Madden won with Marve Hubbard and monstrously massive blockers in front of him. A modern version of a Madden team in my opinion would be Baltimore and Lamar Jackson running for TD's. If Lamar wouldn't implode in the playoffs - they'd have had a good shot at one more championship.

For me when you're spending up on a WR I have certain expectations.

if you're claim to fame is blocking and running fast. That's not something that you need to spend a top 33 pick on. Come training camp I want to hear about him running good routes and separating vs NFL QBs.

If he can't separate against any QB not named Lamar Jackson or Brock Lamar Jackson Purdy, he might be cooked.

Originally posted by NYniner85:
For me when you're spending up on a WR I have certain expectations.

if you're claim to fame is blocking and running fast. That's not something that you need to spend a top 33 pick on. Come training camp I want to hear about him running good routes and separating vs NFL QBs.

Yet you were more than happy drafting a DE at 11 who's claim was stopping the run.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by NYniner85:
We all like takes that fit what we want, I'm not saying Crocker is right or wrong. I'm not gonna label him bad at evaluating players because he played DB in the NFL either.

He's an interesting prospects for sure. Some people are saying he's an excellent route runner some are saying he isn't lol. Probably somewhere in the middle. He's an older prospect so how much more will he develop?

Also I think folks have different things they want in their WR. Me I like twitchy separators. Good feet that can beat man. Others like speed guys or big WRs that can go up and get it and block. There's no right or wrong.

Absolutely agree. John Madden won with Marve Hubbard and monstrously massive blockers in front of him. A modern version of a Madden team in my opinion would be Baltimore and Lamar Jackson running for TD's. If Lamar wouldn't implode in the playoffs - they'd have had a good shot at one more championship.

For me when you're spending up on a WR I have certain expectations.

if you're claim to fame is blocking and running fast. That's not something that you need to spend a top 33 pick on. Come training camp I want to hear about him running good routes and separating vs NFL QBs.

I looked up who his QB was during his 5 seasons. Not one is likely to ever be anything more than a backup at best in the NFL but he still managed over 800 yards in each of his last 2 seasons. He must have some ability to get open and catch the ball with those low level QBs throwing it to him.

Originally posted by CatchMaster80:

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by NYniner85:
We all like takes that fit what we want, I'm not saying Crocker is right or wrong. I'm not gonna label him bad at evaluating players because he played DB in the NFL either.

He's an interesting prospects for sure. Some people are saying he's an excellent route runner some are saying he isn't lol. Probably somewhere in the middle. He's an older prospect so how much more will he develop?

Also I think folks have different things they want in their WR. Me I like twitchy separators. Good feet that can beat man. Others like speed guys or big WRs that can go up and get it and block. There's no right or wrong.

Absolutely agree. John Madden won with Marve Hubbard and monstrously massive blockers in front of him. A modern version of a Madden team in my opinion would be Baltimore and Lamar Jackson running for TD's. If Lamar wouldn't implode in the playoffs - they'd have had a good shot at one more championship.

For me when you're spending up on a WR I have certain expectations.

if you're claim to fame is blocking and running fast. That's not something that you need to spend a top 33 pick on. Come training camp I want to hear about him running good routes and separating vs NFL QBs.

I looked up who his QB was during his 5 seasons. Not one is likely to ever be anything more than a backup at best in the NFL but he still managed over 800 yards in each of his last 2 seasons. He must have some ability to get open and catch the ball with those low level QBs throwing it to him.

Or playing lower level cb's. We'll have to wait and see.

Originally posted by NYniner85:
For me when you're spending up on a WR I have certain expectations.

if you're claim to fame is blocking and running fast. That's not something that you need to spend a top 33 pick on. Come training camp I want to hear about him running good routes and separating vs NFL QBs.

This.

CB's.

Originally posted by pdc20:

FWIW, Dane Bugler heard before the draft that Stribling was going to be drafted probably in the second round but not that high.

With Stribling, there's things I call the "undeniables" – and for him, on a positive note this is what I had:

– blocking is likely the best in this class

– Speed is proven both on the field and in testing, testing among the top 10 in pre draft 40.

– Numbers don't lie, he had one of the lowest drop rates in the nation

All great positives. But none of these mean you will consistently get open at the next level.

Now the negative undeniables:

– He almost never did well against top competition, getting shut down on tape against Mansoor Delane, Brandon Cisse, and Julian Neal, as well as struggling against Oklahoma's promising freshman, Courtland Guillory. He did get the best of fourth round selection Keionte Scott at least though.

One other thing I noticed on tape that was odd was he got taken off the field a lot in the red zone and I'm not sure why. I also didn't see him on for the 2 minute drill against Arkansas. In that game specifically, Neal jammed him with ease and rode his hip pocket all day. It was rough. Tre Wallace wound up being the go to guy that day.

Something fun to note, one receiver who did have success against Delane and Cisse? KC Concepcion.

So the knocks.. hip stiffness, lack of precision in routes despite a lot of experience, and struggling against quality competition. To be fair, the ole "eye test" dinged him a smidge too. Instinct wasn't getting a strong "buy" signal, more "boom or bust".

I hope I'm wrong and he is amazing for us. I just have a lot of questions and wonder what the hole is that these top CBs were able to expose to shut him down.

Originally posted by CatchMaster80:

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by NYniner85:
We all like takes that fit what we want, I'm not saying Crocker is right or wrong. I'm not gonna label him bad at evaluating players because he played DB in the NFL either.

He's an interesting prospects for sure. Some people are saying he's an excellent route runner some are saying he isn't lol. Probably somewhere in the middle. He's an older prospect so how much more will he develop?

Also I think folks have different things they want in their WR. Me I like twitchy separators. Good feet that can beat man. Others like speed guys or big WRs that can go up and get it and block. There's no right or wrong.

Absolutely agree. John Madden won with Marve Hubbard and monstrously massive blockers in front of him. A modern version of a Madden team in my opinion would be Baltimore and Lamar Jackson running for TD's. If Lamar wouldn't implode in the playoffs - they'd have had a good shot at one more championship.

For me when you're spending up on a WR I have certain expectations.

if you're claim to fame is blocking and running fast. That's not something that you need to spend a top 33 pick on. Come training camp I want to hear about him running good routes and separating vs NFL QBs.

I looked up who his QB was during his 5 seasons. Not one is likely to ever be anything more than a backup at best in the NFL but he still managed over 800 yards in each of his last 2 seasons. He must have some ability to get open and catch the ball with those low level QBs throwing it to him.

His most notable QB was CAM Ward in 2022 at Washington State (before he transfered to Miami), the others were no names, although he got some steady play at OSU when the QB there was returning. Still no name, probably left when he knew the next QB was up for QB.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

Originally posted by pdc20:
FWIW, Dane Bugler heard before the draft that Stribling was going to be drafted probably in the second round but not that high.

With Stribling, there's things I call the "undeniables" – and for him, on a positive note this is what I had:

– blocking is likely the best in this class

– Speed is proven both on the field and in testing, testing among the top 10 in pre draft 40.

– Numbers don't lie, he had one of the lowest drop rates in the nation

All great positives. But none of these mean you will consistently get open at the next level.

Now the negative undeniables:

– He almost never did well against top competition, getting shut down on tape against Mansoor Delane, Brandon Cisse, and Julian Neal, as well as struggling against Oklahoma's promising freshman, Courtland Guillory. He did get the best of fourth round selection Keionte Scott at least though.

One other thing I noticed on tape that was odd was he got taken off the field a lot in the red zone and I'm not sure why. I also didn't see him on for the 2 minute drill against Arkansas. In that game specifically, Neal jammed him with ease and rode his hip pocket all day. It was rough. Tre Wallace wound up being the go to guy that day.

Something fun to note, one receiver who did have success against Delane and Cisse? KC Concepcion.

So the knocks.. hip stiffness, lack of precision in routes despite a lot of experience, and struggling against quality competition. To be fair, the ole "eye test" dinged him a smidge too. Instinct wasn't getting a strong "buy" signal, more "boom or bust".

I hope I'm wrong and he is amazing for us. I just have a lot of questions and wonder what the hole is that these top CBs were able to expose to shut him down.

Thanks for these notes OTC. I liked in his interview for 49ers media recently he talked about learning from the guys in our WR room and improving his game in all aspects. I get that route running and agility are perhaps not strengths right now. But I'm going to hope that he can improve on that.
He doesn't have to become a great route runner, to be an effective WR. But he does have to get good enough at it, to let his other gifts shine through. Here's to hoping

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
With Stribling, there's things I call the "undeniables" – and for him, on a positive note this is what I had:

– blocking is likely the best in this class

– Speed is proven both on the field and in testing, testing among the top 10 in pre draft 40.

– Numbers don't lie, he had one of the lowest drop rates in the nation

All great positives. But none of these mean you will consistently get open at the next level.

Now the negative undeniables:

– He almost never did well against top competition, getting shut down on tape against Mansoor Delane, Brandon Cisse, and Julian Neal, as well as struggling against Oklahoma's promising freshman, Courtland Guillory. He did get the best of fourth round selection Keionte Scott at least though.

One other thing I noticed on tape that was odd was he got taken off the field a lot in the red zone and I'm not sure why. I also didn't see him on for the 2 minute drill against Arkansas. In that game specifically, Neal jammed him with ease and rode his hip pocket all day. It was rough. Tre Wallace wound up being the go to guy that day.

Something fun to note, one receiver who did have success against Delane and Cisse? KC Concepcion.

So the knocks.. hip stiffness, lack of precision in routes despite a lot of experience, and struggling against quality competition. To be fair, the ole "eye test" dinged him a smidge too. Instinct wasn't getting a strong "buy" signal, more "boom or bust".

I hope I'm wrong and he is amazing for us. I just have a lot of questions and wonder what the hole is that these top CBs were able to expose to shut him down.

If he had those positives and none of the negatives, he would have been a top 3 pick. The reason he was available in the 2nd are for reasons you hope coaching/experience can help. We'll see

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

Originally posted by pdc20:
FWIW, Dane Bugler heard before the draft that Stribling was going to be drafted probably in the second round but not that high.

With Stribling, there's things I call the "undeniables" – and for him, on a positive note this is what I had:

– blocking is likely the best in this class

– Speed is proven both on the field and in testing, testing among the top 10 in pre draft 40.

– Numbers don't lie, he had one of the lowest drop rates in the nation

All great positives. But none of these mean you will consistently get open at the next level.

Now the negative undeniables:

– He almost never did well against top competition, getting shut down on tape against Mansoor Delane, Brandon Cisse, and Julian Neal, as well as struggling against Oklahoma's promising freshman, Courtland Guillory. He did get the best of fourth round selection Keionte Scott at least though.

One other thing I noticed on tape that was odd was he got taken off the field a lot in the red zone and I'm not sure why. I also didn't see him on for the 2 minute drill against Arkansas. In that game specifically, Neal jammed him with ease and rode his hip pocket all day. It was rough. Tre Wallace wound up being the go to guy that day.

Something fun to note, one receiver who did have success against Delane and Cisse? KC Concepcion.

So the knocks.. hip stiffness, lack of precision in routes despite a lot of experience, and struggling against quality competition. To be fair, the ole "eye test" dinged him a smidge too. Instinct wasn't getting a strong "buy" signal, more "boom or bust".

I hope I'm wrong and he is amazing for us. I just have a lot of questions and wonder what the hole is that these top CBs were able to expose to shut him down.

Cosell studied his 2024 tape where he had a fuller route tree. Looked at every target between the last two years. Cosell said he's a proficient route runner, so I'll take his word over yours considering he has more data at his disposal.

As for the players he struggled against his year, when you're only running a small selection of routes, it's not crazy that good QBs would be able to narrow their defensive focus. Honestly, it's wild to me that he was locked down by good cbs and this was not noted by someone like Cosell. Sure seems like there's some needed context to those numbers, which I have not seen.

Originally posted by Chance:

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

Originally posted by pdc20:

FWIW, Dane Bugler heard before the draft that Stribling was going to be drafted probably in the second round but not that high.

With Stribling, there's things I call the "undeniables" – and for him, on a positive note this is what I had:

– blocking is likely the best in this class

– Speed is proven both on the field and in testing, testing among the top 10 in pre draft 40.

– Numbers don't lie, he had one of the lowest drop rates in the nation

All great positives. But none of these mean you will consistently get open at the next level.

Now the negative undeniables:

– He almost never did well against top competition, getting shut down on tape against Mansoor Delane, Brandon Cisse, and Julian Neal, as well as struggling against Oklahoma's promising freshman, Courtland Guillory. He did get the best of fourth round selection Keionte Scott at least though.

One other thing I noticed on tape that was odd was he got taken off the field a lot in the red zone and I'm not sure why. I also didn't see him on for the 2 minute drill against Arkansas. In that game specifically, Neal jammed him with ease and rode his hip pocket all day. It was rough. Tre Wallace wound up being the go to guy that day.

Something fun to note, one receiver who did have success against Delane and Cisse? KC Concepcion.

So the knocks.. hip stiffness, lack of precision in routes despite a lot of experience, and struggling against quality competition. To be fair, the ole "eye test" dinged him a smidge too. Instinct wasn't getting a strong "buy" signal, more "boom or bust".

I hope I'm wrong and he is amazing for us. I just have a lot of questions and wonder what the hole is that these top CBs were able to expose to shut him down.

Cosell studied his 2024 tape where he had a fuller route tree. Looked at every target between the last two years. Cosell said he's a proficient route runner, so I'll take his word over yours considering he has more data at his disposal.

As for the players he struggled against his year, when you're only running a small selection of routes, it's not crazy that good QBs would be able to narrow their defensive focus. Honestly, it's wild to me that he was locked down by good cbs and this was not noted by someone like Cosell. Sure seems like there's some needed context to those numbers, which I have not seen.

To the numbers, I did rewatch the games, it's not just me looking at the box score.

Big fan of Cosell, and his point about the Oklahoma State tape is valid. The question arises as to why he wasn't separating at the same level on the same exact routes for Ole Miss? I would've expected it to be even better. Perhaps there was a habit picked up.

The potential is there, he's far from a finished story. He's just got some questions to answer for me, hence why he wasn't a first round pick.

At this point, I've dove as deep as I can into the player without NFL level resources and still wasn't fully sold on him being top 50 caliber. Been doing this a long time, going against the census and rating players like Antonio Brown, George Kittle, Tyreek Hill, Lamb, Stefon Diggs, and Chris Godwin much higher than others – while casting doubts about guys like Ruggs, Reagor, Mingo, NKeal Harry, and Xavier Leggette

I'm not right all the time and neither is Cosell. And I understand I'm not a household name like he is. But I do have a phenomenal track record and it's why I trust what I see. I thought Stribling was boom or bust. I hope he is one I wind up super wrong about!

Cosell is a legend, and his opinion should be valued very highly.

But is he not a "media evaluator" ??

i notice he comes out with a clip in support of a prospect and all of a sudden his word is like gospel and absolute confirmation of certain posters' biases

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

Originally posted by Chance:

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

Originally posted by pdc20:
FWIW, Dane Bugler heard before the draft that Stribling was going to be drafted probably in the second round but not that high.

With Stribling, there's things I call the "undeniables" – and for him, on a positive note this is what I had:

– blocking is likely the best in this class

– Speed is proven both on the field and in testing, testing among the top 10 in pre draft 40.

– Numbers don't lie, he had one of the lowest drop rates in the nation

All great positives. But none of these mean you will consistently get open at the next level.

Now the negative undeniables:

– He almost never did well against top competition, getting shut down on tape against Mansoor Delane, Brandon Cisse, and Julian Neal, as well as struggling against Oklahoma's promising freshman, Courtland Guillory. He did get the best of fourth round selection Keionte Scott at least though.

One other thing I noticed on tape that was odd was he got taken off the field a lot in the red zone and I'm not sure why. I also didn't see him on for the 2 minute drill against Arkansas. In that game specifically, Neal jammed him with ease and rode his hip pocket all day. It was rough. Tre Wallace wound up being the go to guy that day.

Something fun to note, one receiver who did have success against Delane and Cisse? KC Concepcion.

So the knocks.. hip stiffness, lack of precision in routes despite a lot of experience, and struggling against quality competition. To be fair, the ole "eye test" dinged him a smidge too. Instinct wasn't getting a strong "buy" signal, more "boom or bust".

I hope I'm wrong and he is amazing for us. I just have a lot of questions and wonder what the hole is that these top CBs were able to expose to shut him down.

Cosell studied his 2024 tape where he had a fuller route tree. Looked at every target between the last two years. Cosell said he's a proficient route runner, so I'll take his word over yours considering he has more data at his disposal.

As for the players he struggled against his year, when you're only running a small selection of routes, it's not crazy that good QBs would be able to narrow their defensive focus. Honestly, it's wild to me that he was locked down by good cbs and this was not noted by someone like Cosell. Sure seems like there's some needed context to those numbers, which I have not seen.

To the numbers, I did rewatch the games, it's not just me looking at the box score.

Big fan of Cosell, and his point about the Oklahoma State tape is valid. The question arises as to why he wasn't separating at the same level on the same exact routes for Ole Miss? I would've expected it to be even better. Perhaps there was a habit picked up.

The potential is there, he's far from a finished story. He's just got some questions to answer for me, hence why he wasn't a first round pick.

At this point, I've dove as deep as I can into the player without NFL level resources and still wasn't fully sold on him being top 50 caliber. Been doing this a long time, going against the census and rating players like Antonio Brown, George Kittle, Tyreek Hill, Lamb, Stefon Diggs, and Chris Godwin much higher than others – while casting doubts about guys like Ruggs, Reagor, Mingo, NKeal Harry, and Xavier Leggette

I'm not right all the time and neither is Cosell. And I understand I'm not a household name like he is. But I do have a phenomenal track record and it's why I trust what I see. I thought Stribling was boom or bust. I hope he is one I wind up super wrong about!

When you have to do all of this to sell people on a pick…