March 3, 2026, 11:15 a.m. ET
The Cleveland Browns need to overhaul their wide receiver room and will look to do so through both the NFL Draft and NFL free agency. One wide receiver whom they could target later in the NFL Draft is Ole Miss playmaker De’Zhaun Stribling.
Needing to potentially overhaul their entire wide receiver room, the Browns could potentially draft multiple wide receivers at the end of April. And after his strong showing at the NFL Combine, combined with the tape he put together at the end of the season with the Rebels, Stribling could be a player the Browns would select if looking to double up on a mid-round receiver.
Coming into the combine at 6-foot-2 and 207 pounds, Stribling is one of the bigger receivers in the class. That did not stop him from running a blazing 4.39 40-yard dash, leaping to a 36-inch vertical, and a 10-foot-7 broad jump. As a result, he is now a player to get to know.
So, let’s do that here.
How Stribling could fit with the Browns in the NFL Draft
Stribling’s fit with the Browns is relatively easy because there is not a single wide receiver on the roster who would prohibit a role, and the team could add another wideout. There is a real chance that by August of 2027, none of the current wide receivers on the roster will be on the roster.
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Stribling can play all three spots at receiver. He can win vertically at X, he can come inside to the slot and do the dirty work over the middle of the field, and he is capable of finding hidden yards in the screen game on manufactured touches as well. Stribling will even come inside and block at a high level when he is asked to.
This is clearly a player who is going to out-produce his draft slot, and a player the Browns should be interested in. Especially if the cost of adding him to the roster is a late-third round pick to mid-Day 3 pick.
How Stribling could be the steal of the NFL Draft
Daft on Draft, an NFL Draft analysis site, discussed Stribling ad nauseam and why he is the receiver in this year’s NFL Draft class who will out-produce his draft slot. In a recent article that looked into six bold predictions after all of the NFL Combine fallout, Daft on Draft called Stribling this year’s non-first round wide receiver to make an early impact. Here is what they had to say:
“Even as a person who came into the combine high on the NFL Draft potential of Ole Miss wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling, what he did at Lucas Oil Stadium completely blew me away. There is not a day of the week that I would have anticipated that Stribling would run a 4.36 40-yard dash.
However, the stuff that I already loved about Stribling’s tape is still there as well. He can play in the slot, out wide, and even motion in as a pseudo-third tight end in 12 personnel looks. He’s not afraid to block, he catches everything thrown his way, and Stribling has a sneaky amount of juice after the catch with the ball in his hands as well.
There is a size mismatch in the slot, and Stribling has the skillset of a player who is going to be hard to keep off the field early in his career. Coaches are going to fall in love with his willingness to do what it takes on a play-to-play basis.
Because of this, the bold prediction here is that Stribling is going to be the non-first round wide receiver with surprising rookie production.”
This is a player who would be a massive utility to the Browns if he found his way to Cleveland.