Fantasy Football Injury Impact: De'Zhaun Stribling Lands On IR, Opening The Door For A 49ers' Sleeper

San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling built a ton of hype in training camp and the preseason, and shot up fantasy football draft boards leading up to the start of the season. Unfortunately, he lasted just 21 snaps before suffering an ankle injury that we learned today will land him on injured reserve.

Stribling will now miss at least the next four games and could potentially be out longer. His absence will have a significant impact on the 49ers' passing attack and will shake things up for fantasy football owners.

Fantasy Impact

WR De'Zhaun Stribling, San Francisco 49ers

Ideally, you have an IR slot to put Stribling in, because we would prefer not to drop him. However, if you don't have that option, you'll have a tough decision to make. While we love Stribling's upside, he's still an unproven rookie who we weren't overly high on as a prospect who now has to work his way back from a serious ankle injury.

This is not a great situation for any rookie. The health of the 49ers could also play a major part in his role once he's ready to return.

Mike Evans, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, and Christian McCaffrey all come with age and injury concerns. We would suggest holding on to Stribling for as long as possible to see how things play out, but if you need the roster spot, you may have to move on at some point.

WR Demarcus Robinson, San Francisco 49ers

With Stribling going down, Robinson finished second in wide receiver snaps, playing on 63% of the offensive snaps in Week 1. Only Evans played more, playing on 75% of the snaps.

Robinson caught two of his three targets for a team-high 50 receiving yards and a touchdown. While Deebo Samuel saw seven targets in the game, Robinson should serve as a downfield threat with Stribling sidelined.

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