NFL Analyst Props Up De'Zhaun Stribling's Fit With the 49ers

The hype for De'Zhaun Stribling is building.

Oct 18, 2025; Athens, Georgia, USA; Mississippi Rebels wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling (1) runs for a touchdown against the Georgia Bulldogs during the second half of the game at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It’s almost time for the 2026 campaign to begin for the San Francisco 49ers.

Training camp kicks off on July 25, but that’s when the whole team shows up. The 49ers’ rookies have been participating for almost a week now.

That means wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling is already getting some tread on his tires. Much attention will be on Stribling, as he was a polarizing draft pick made by the 49ers.

This is where Stribling will take his first steps towards proving the 49ers right for drafting him. In fact, the brilliant ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes believes Stribling will be a sweet fit with the 49ers.

How Stribling is a perfect fit 

Jan 8, 2026; Glendale, AZ, USA; Mississippi Rebels wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling (1) against the Miami Hurricanes during the 2026 Fiesta Bowl and semifinal game of the College Football Playoff at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“You see a lot of the attributes that they want. He’s really tough. He’s a good blocker, which is very San Francisco 49ers coded, said Kimes. “And he fits in with the players that they already have and that they added. Mike Evans is the true X, Ricky Pearsall is the Z, Stribling can play in the slot as a “big slot” or just close to the formation.”

“You can see why it’s possible that the 49ers valued him a bit more than other teams in the NFL.”

What Kimes intriguingly cites is his formation fit. Stribling has versatile usage in alignment, and it’s more than how Kimes puts it.

He can easily line up close to the ball when the 49ers want to run double tight end sets to take advantage of his vicious blocking.

That was the 49ers’ undoing last season with their running game. Yes, Christian McCaffrey left some runs out there, but the majority of the time he didn’t have running lanes to work with. The lack of blocking from the wide receivers factored into that.

With Stribling, that shouldn’t be a problem. Suddenly, executing effective outside runs will work more consistently than before. It wouldn’t be surprising if Stribling has more snaps played than Pearsall, but fewer routes run. 

This is what will be most fascinating to see with Stribling. How do the 49ers line him up? And how does it work with Pearsall? One thing is for certain: you shouldn’t expect Stribling to light up the stat sheet.

Maybe he’ll have a couple of games where it’s amazing, but all the 49ers want is for him to be a key role player, like how Jauan Jennings was when he first received playing time. 

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