SANTA CLARA — De’Zhaun Stribling is coming into an ideal situation for a rookie wide receiver.

The door is open for the No. 33 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to earn significant playing time in his first NFL season. And he also is joining a 49ers team that has one of the league’s top role models at his position.

Wide receiver Mike Evans, a six-time Pro Bowl performer, signed as a free agent this offseason with the 49ers after spending his first 12 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Evans’ streak of 1,000-yard seasons came to an end last year, as he appeared in only eight games due to injuries.

Of course, Stribling expects to learn a lot from Evans. But he also hopes he can do his part to raise the level of play around him.

“Just learning points from everything, from route details to how you do certain things, catching the ball, hand placement, just learning from each and every one of them,” Stribling told NBC Sports Bay Area on “Meet the Rookies.”

“(I’ll be) competing and pushing them to be better so I can become better, also.”

The 49ers have reason to be high on Stribling, who got off to a good start with a demonstration of his playmaking ability during the offseason program.

Fullback Kyle Juszczyk told NBC Sports Bay Area that he was impressed with Stribling’s willingness to do some of the dirty work, too.

“He’s big. He’s fast. He’s physical,” Juszczyk said of Stribling. “I think in our second OTA, he was asked to cut off the defensive end on the backside of the ball, and he so willingly and impressively did so. He threw his body in there with no hesitation.”

Stribling posted nearly identical numbers in his final two seasons of college football. He caught 52 passes for 882 yards and six touchdowns at Oklahoma State in 2024. Last year, he had 55 receptions for 811 yards and six touchdowns at Ole Miss.

But he said he steers clear of setting statistical goals.

“I don’t like putting numbers or expectations out there,” Stribling said. “I just like going out and playing the best I can play. That’s all it is at the end of the day: Doing what I can do at the highest level to help the whole team win.”

Stribling joins a group of wide receivers that includes Evans, Christian Kirk, DeMarcus Robinson, Jordan Watkins and Ricky Pearsall, who recently was placed on season-ending IR. He brings a well-rounded skill set to the 49ers, which includes his ability to block and make yards after the catch with his 4.36 speed in the 40-yard dash.

He said he already has an idea of what it takes to succeed with the 49ers.

“It’s a lot of toughness, a lot of grit, a lot of unity as a whole and doing your part for the whole organization,” he said.

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