Stop me if you\u2019ve heard this before: The 49ers made a polarizing draft pick.<\/p>\n
Well, in the case of their most recent one, 2026\u2019s De\u2019Zhaun Stribling, the pick itself seemed to be an absolute mixed bag<\/a> when it comes to fans\u2019 reactions. Most called it a reach\u2014at best.<\/p>\n Stribling\u2019s stock continues to rise, and he hasn\u2019t even played a snap yet. Add him as a sleeper to a rookie offensive player of the year list\u2014a list from CBS Sports\u2019 Jordan Dajani who gave four sleepers to consider<\/a>.<\/p>\n Stribling is known for his blocking ability and physicality, but he also ran a 4.36 40-yard dash at the combine at 6-foot-2. He caught 55 passes for 811 yards last season for the Ole Miss Rebels and led the team with six receiving touchdowns. He also caught seven passes for 122 yards in the College Football<\/a> Playoff Quarterfinal upset against Georgia. Surely he can find a role in this efficient San Francisco 49ers<\/a> offensive attack — and should have the opportunity, too.<\/p>\n Really, his blocking ability and speed are enough for me and scream Kyle Shanahan offense. Like many, I wondered what the hell the 49ers were doing when his name was called. After I did a bit of research<\/a> on someone I knew nothing about<\/a>, I walked away saying this might end up being a steal.<\/p>\n Kyle Shanahan is not one to throw his rookies into the fire unless absolutely necessary (and they are absolutely ready). Dajani makes a good point about injuries and the presence of Mike Evans at wide receiver. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if Evans is at least out for a good portion of a game or two during the season\u2014which would open the door for Stribling. Plus, we don\u2019t know who will fill the Kendrick Bourne\/Jauan Jennings role this year, with both out of the mix. If Stribling is that guy, he\u2019d be the highest pick spent on the role for Shanahan.<\/p>\n It\u2019s funny how on draft day many of us (myself included) were wondering what the 49ers were doing, but now, I, for one, am excited to see what this guy does in Kyle Shanahan\u2019s offense. He could be the sleeper pick for Offensive Rookie of the Year.<\/p>\n I just hope if he does win it, it\u2019s by ability and production, not because of injuries and attrition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stop me if you\u2019ve heard this before: The 49ers made a polarizing draft pick. Well, in the case…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":891334,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2080],"tags":[220,7,6,1161,252,52067,2624,2623],"class_list":["post-951567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco-49ers","tag-49ers","tag-football","tag-nfl","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-49ers","tag-san-francisco-49ers-roster","tag-sanfrancisco","tag-sanfrancisco49ers"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116958308848978985","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=951567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951567\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/891334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=951567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=951567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=951567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}