Was De’Zhaun Stribling the Right Move for the 49ers?

Throughout the NFL draft this year, many fans were wondering what the San Francisco 49ers would do, especially with the 27th overall pick. 

However, after night one of the NFL draft, the 49ers didn’t use their 27th overall pick. Instead, they traded and acquired picks for Day 2. 

Their first move was trading back with the Miami Dolphins. The 49ers received picks 30 and 90, while the Dolphins only received the 27th pick. 

Overall, many people around the league thought this was a good move until they decided to trade back once more, completely out of Day 1. The San Francisco then decided to trade with the New York Jets, giving them the 30th overall pick in return for the 33rd and 179th overall picks. 

Finally, with the 33rd overall pick, the San Francisco 49ers selected De’Zhaun Stribling, a wide receiver out of Ole Miss. 

Many question if this was really the right move for the 49ers, considering they may have bigger needs other than the wide receiver position. 

The Pros of Stribling

Even though San Francisco could have addressed other team needs, they decided to address the need for a wide receiver first. 

Many believed that if they were going to go with a wideout, they would draft someone like KC Concepcion, Omar Cooper Jr., or even Denzel Boston. 

However, with some of those prospects taken, the 49ers went with a wild card. Stribling, though rarely mentioned, put up very impressive college numbers and NFL Combine stats. 

Stribling comes in at 6-foot-2 and weighs around 207 pounds with a blazing 4.36 40-yard dash time, impressive speed for his size. 

He also fits right into the Kyle Shanahan system, which loves wide receivers who can block. Stribling’s college tape shows that he can succeed in that exact system.

Not only that, but Stribling now adds much-needed depth at the wide receiver position for the 49ers. Many of their receivers, like Mike Evans, Ricky Pearsall, and Christian Kirk, are older or have injury concerns.

With a combination of sneaky athleticism, aggressive blocking style, and the overall confidence that he carries, De’Zhaun Stribling will bring great use to the 49er offense and a new problem for defenses to manage. 

But was he worth the 33rd overall pick in this year’s draft? 

The Cons List

For as many pros as come with drafting a receiver first, there are also clear cons.

And for the 49ers, many believed the wide receiver position should not have been their top priority. Rather, something like offensive tackle or defensive end. 

With the team just signing left tackle Trent Williams to a new two-year, $50 million deal, they were not expected to draft a new tackle. But many questioned whether they should take another tackle, given Williams’s age and the possibility of a decline in play. 

Even outside of that, the team is still in need of more help on the defensive line. With few notable names outside Nick Bosa and last year’s first-round pick Mykel Williams, they need more depth.

Many experts and fans believed the 49ers could have drafted prospects like Malachi Lawrence, Keldric Faulk, or even secondary help, such as Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. 

Not only that, but most evaluators projected Stribling as a late-second or early third-round pick. This means the 49ers could have still gotten him later while still prioritizing other positions. 

In the end, it is only a matter of time before we find out whether De’Zhaun Stribling was worth the reach at the 33rd overall pick for the 49ers and whether he was the right move for the current team.