The San Francisco 49ers selected De’Zhaun Stribling, a wide receiver from Ole Miss, in the 2026 NFL Draft, adding a big, fast target to Kyle Shanahan’s offense.
Stribling gives San Francisco a 6-foot-2 receiver with legitimate speed and a physical playing style. NFL Draft Buzz lists Stribling with a 4.36-second 40-yard dash, while Ole Miss listed him at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds during his final college season.
Fast Facts on 49ers Draft Pick De’Zhaun Stribling
- Position: Wide receiver
- College: Ole Miss; previously Oklahoma State and Washington State
- Hometown: Kapolei, Hawaii
- High school: Kapolei
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: December 18, 2002
- Height/weight: 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, per Ole Miss
- 40-yard dash: 4.36 seconds, per NFL Draft Buzz
- Draft slot: No. 33 by the San Francisco 49ers
Stribling’s college path was not linear. He began at Washington State, later played at Oklahoma State and finished at Ole Miss, where he arrived before the 2025 season. Ole Miss listed him as a redshirt senior and noted that he was on the Biletnikoff Award preseason watch list and the Senior Bowl Top-300 list.
Why De’Zhaun Stribling Fits the 49ers
The 49ers have long valued receivers who do more than catch the ball, and that is the easiest way to understand this pick.
Stribling is not just a height-weight-speed prospect. He brings the kind of physical profile that can matter in San Francisco’s offense: size on the perimeter, enough speed to stretch the field and the willingness to play through contact. NFL Draft Buzz lists him as an outside X-receiver, with 10-inch hands, a 36-inch vertical and a 127-inch broad jump.
That profile gives Shanahan options. Stribling can be developed as an outside receiver, but his physicality also makes him interesting in motion, condensed formations and run-game-heavy personnel packages. The 49ers ask their receivers to block, threaten after the catch and punish defenses that overplay the run. Stribling’s frame and athletic testing give him a chance to check those boxes.
Stribling Brings Size and Speed to San Francisco’s Receiver Room
The 49ers entered the draft with questions about their long-term receiver depth, and Stribling gives them another developmental piece with starting-caliber traits.
A recent 49ers-focused prospect discussion from Locked On 49ers described Stribling as a player who could bring “size and speed” to San Francisco’s receiver room. That is the cleanest version of the fit: the 49ers are betting on a receiver with the athletic profile to win vertically and the body type to handle a physical NFL role.
Stribling also gives San Francisco a different kind of option if the receiver room shifts in the future. He is not being drafted to be a finished product on Day 1. He is being drafted because his blend of size, speed and play strength can be molded into a useful role in an offense that has made the most of versatile skill players.
What This Means for Brandon Aiyuk and the 49ers
Stribling does not guarantee a Brandon Aiyuk trade, but it gives the 49ers another outside receiver as his future remains unsettled. After Aiyuk’s contract standoff, trade request and later injury issues, San Francisco has kept flexibility in mind. Stribling adds size, speed and insurance if the 49ers eventually move on.
For now, he gives San Francisco a high-upside wideout with a clear path to early snaps if he proves he can handle the physical and assignment-heavy parts of Shanahan’s system.
