While there have been some naysayers about San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling, he silenced them on Thursday night.
Stribling has put on quite a show at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., as the 49ers opened the NFL preseason against the Tennessee Titans.
49ers’ De’Zhaun Stribling Puts Up Highlight Reel Effort
In the first half, Stribling had 7 catches for 63 yards and no touchdowns on 8 targets. Stribling’s longest catch was a 32-yarder heading into the second half.
The fact that the 49ers selected Stribling with the 33rd overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, despite him never recording a season with over 1,000 yards in college, surprised many.
According to PFN’s CFB WR Impact Metric, he posted an impact score of 78.0 in 2025, ranking 88th in the country. As a result, he was under pressure to justify his draft position, and he made a good impression in his NFL preseason debut.
Yahoo Sports’ NFL reporter Hayden Winks compared Stribling’s effort against some other top NFL wide receivers. “De’Zhaun Stribling at 7 catches for 62 yards in his first NFL preseason half,” Winks wrote. “How many games these veterans have reachd 7-for-62 in their careers: X. Worthy (2), Q. Johnston (2), J. Reed (1), M. Harrison (1), A. Pierce (1), etc.”
In reality, Stribling recorded 63 yards, which makes it even more impressive.
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NFL reporter Easton Freeze decided to share a little humor in watching Stribling play, noting where and who Stribling played under in his final college football season. Freeze wrote, “Why De’Zhaun Stribling is already the best Lane Kiffin Ole Miss skill player in the NFL, my column:”.
Matt Lively of CBS Sports Bay Area had some complimentary words after seeing Stribling take the field and make some catches.He wrote, “De’Zhaun Stribling was as good as you could have hoped for in his debut… He was physical and beat a man for a long gain while adjusting.”
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David Lombardi, who covers the 49ers for The San Francisco Standard, made sure to point out what some NFL onlookers were saying about Stribling after he was drafted in the 2026 NFL Draft.
“The post-draft narrative alleged that the 49ers ‘got poor value’ with De’Zhaun Stribling,” Lombardi wrote. “It is already shifting to ‘how the hell did they get this FIRST-ROUND size/speed/skill combo in the SECOND round?’ Actual NFL fit >> random mock draft ‘consensus'”.
“The 49ers can bubble wrap De’Zhaun Stribling. The best WR from the 2026 draft class is ready to go for the regular season,” Lombardi added, “(I’m joking, of course. But Stribling will graduate to work with Brock Purdy and the starters in the next two preseason games and he looks more than prepared for that)”.
Grant Cohn, who is the publisher of 49ers on SI, already has a prediction on how Stribling will play this season. Cohn wrote, “De’Zhaun Stribling will catch at least 50 passes this season.”
The Goal Line Grind also shared a clip of Stribling making an impressive catch where he had to turn around to catch the ball over a Titans defender. The account posted, “De’Zhaun Stribling is making the most of his opportunity and showing OUT for the 49ers tonight. 7 receptions for 63 yards tonight for the rookie.”
NFL host and content creator Chase Senior of Chat Sports is already drawing comparisons between Stribling and Brandon Aiyuk. Senior wrote, “De’Zhaun Stribling is the 49ers most talented WR since Brandon Aiyuk was an All-Pro in 2023. Great adjustment here.”
Steph Sanchez, host of the 49Karats Podcast, made a bold statement about Stribling after his first-half effort: “I’ve seen enough. Build the Stribling statue.”
With all of this praise, Stribling made those doubters, both before and after the draft, question their opinions of him. Let’s see how he performs in the rest of the preseason and the regular season.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.