How De'Zhaun Stribling Can Contribute to 49ers Right Away

He might have to earn his snaps on offense.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

One of the biggest debates of the offseason for the San Francisco 49ers will be how much of a role De’Zhaun Stribling has in Year 1. With Mike Evans and Ricky Pearsall ahead of him, he is mostly competing for the number three job with Christian Kirk. However, there appears to be one other area where he is helping the team, and that is special teams. 

Will De’Zhaun Stribling play special teams for the San Francisco 49ers?

It is a rookie minicamp, so of course, the rookies are doing a little bit of everything. However, one noticeable trend was that the team was looking long and hard at Stribling as a gunner on special teams. Whether this comes to fruition remains to be seen, but if Stribling is the fourth receiver to start the year, getting onto the field for special teams is one way to show value when his current role might not. 

Stribling has the traits to be a special gunner. pic.twitter.com/L6KXXqOZNr

— Grant Cohn (@grantcohn) May 9, 2026

Still, this would be pretty discouraging for a second-round pick taken so high, even if he is just a rookie. History shows that rookies have to at least flash a little bit to have the chance to become a longer-term starter, and Stribling will not get those chances if he is just depth. 

Since 2012, there have been 11 players drafted between picks 30 and 60, a late first or second round pick, and then played over 50 special teams snaps. The list is Jack Bech, Chase Claypool, Mecole Hardman, Curtis Samuel, Van Jefferson, Rondale Moore, Devin Smith, Xavier Leggett, Cody Latimer, Tre Harris, and Christian Kirk. Kirk is the most successful receiver from that group, and he played the fewest special teams snaps, with just 56. Beyond that, Kirk was on the field to return punts, so this was an effort to get the ball into his hands. The gunners were players like Leggett, Claypool, Bech, and Harris. These players came in as fourth options on their teams. They were unable to get on the field early, and while Claypool flashed briefly, it does not look like a strong group of receivers blossomed from not having a role on offense in year one. 

The 49ers might spin it positively and say that Stribling is finding different ways to impact, but if Stribling is not finding ways to impact the team on offense, the odds are that he will not be on the team for the long term.