What to Expect from 49ers Rookie De'Zhaun Stribling This Year

Will this rookie play?

Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

De'Zhaun Stribling probably will make a bigger impact than you expect this season.

Maybe not right away. But by the end of the season, he probably will be a starter.

Since Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch joined the 49ers organization in 2017, they have drafted five wide receivers in the first two rounds -- Dante Pettis, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Ricky Pearsall and Stribling. With the exception of Stribling, who hasn't played yet, each of them gained at least 400 yards in their rookie seasons. They played significant roles, even Pearsall, who missed seven games after getting shot.

Which means the 49ers drafted Stribling to play him right away. At least, that's the plan.

Currently, the 49ers have two starting wide receivers -- Mike Evans and Ricky Pearsall. They're not competing for the jobs. So in training camp, Stribling will compete for the starting slot receiver role with veterans Christian Kirk and Demarcus Robinson.

To win this competition, Stribling will have to show that he can catch the ball consistently over the middle, something he did at Oklahoma State in 2024 but not so much at Ole Miss in 2025.

As long as Stribling stays healthy, he'll have a good chance to win this competition because the 49ers are highly invested in him, as opposed to Kirk and Robinson, who are expendable.

But the third receiver doesn't always get much playing time on the 49ers, because they're so committed to playing their fullback, Kyle Juszczyk, who's 35 and averages roughly 25 touches per season. To really make an impact, Stribling will have to replace Evans or Pearsall.

And that's why Stribling is here. Because one or both of Evans and Pearsall are likely to get injured this season, that's just the harsh reality.

Evans has been an ironman in his career, but he's coming off a season in which he missed nine games and he'll turn 33 in August. And then there's Pearsall, who missed eight games last season and took far longer to recover than the 49ers expected he would.

If Pearsall goes on another extended absence this season, expect Stribling to take his job and never give it back. The 49ers sent Pearsall a message by drafting Stribling, and it was this: "Stay on the field, or else."

Unfortunately for Pearsall, his body simply doesn't seem built to hold up in the NFL for 17 games plus playoffs. He's courageous, but also frail. Unlike Stribling, who's much thicker.

Expect Stribling to catch roughly 40 passes this year and to become the starting Z receiver by December.