49ers coach explains thoughts on rookie’s dominant preseason debut

De'Zhaun Stribling turned heads in the San Francisco 49ers' preseason loss against the Tennessee Titans, and head coach Kyle Shanahan liked the way the rookie receiver bounced back from a slow start to put together a strong overall showing, highlighted by a long catch downfield. "I thought he struggled a little bit on the first drive, but I think he got three drives after that," Shanahan said. "It seemed like he executed all the stuff that went to him and I liked how his hands looked out there and played physical." The rookie finished the game with seven catches for 63 yards on eight targets — all in the first half. Stribling has been used all over San Francisco's formation this summer rather than being locked into one spot, and Shanahan confirmed that trend continued Thursday. "He's moving around, yeah," Shanahan said. "We're switching him up throughout the week and he did a number of different things today, too." The versatility comes after a setback earlier in camp, when an injury cost Stribling a lot of practice time. Shanahan said the rookie has handled the adjustment well since returning. "It was tough when he got hurt. He missed that week. Now he's been back for, I believe, a week," Shanahan said. "Hopefully he can string together two more of these weeks, because he's going about it the right way and as long as he gets those reps and continues to do what he's been doing, he should be ready for the season." If Stribling can stay healthy the rest of camp, his preseason debut suggests he could carve out a real role in San Francisco's offense as a rookie. He should slide in behind, at minimum, Mike Evans, with the potential to become the 49ers' No. 2 receiving option alongside Deebo Samuel. Stribling has earned a ton of praise from the rest of his teammates, including 49ers cornerbacks, Brock Purdy, Mac Jones, Kyle Juszczyk and Evans. This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers coach explains thoughts on rookie’s dominant preseason debut