The 49ers may have done more than just make a surprising second-round pick. According to NFL insider Adam Schefter, San Francisco’s decision to take Ole Miss receiver De'Zhaun Stribling at No. 33 also may have shut the door on a draft plan the Rams had in mind.
That plan, if Schefter’s reporting is accurate, would have been a clean two-step for Los Angeles: land the future franchise quarterback in the first round, then circle back for a receiver target on Day 2. Stribling was reportedly on that list, and Schefter said the Rams were among the teams with a high grade on him.
"What's interesting about this selection is that there were some people who wondered whether this was too early for De'Zhaun Stribling to go," Schefter said. " And yet, there were a couple of teams that I spoke to, leading up to the draft, that felt like Stribling was the best wide receiver in the draft. Another team, supposedly the Los Angeles Rams, had eyes on him.
"And so the 49ers didn't just come up with this pick out of nowhere. They knew that there were other teams that had a very high grade on Stribling, when the 49ers declined to trade out of the top draft slot in the second round and take him there."
The pick raised eyebrows because Stribling was widely expected to go later than No. 33.
Even with his stock climbing, he was generally projected to land closer to the middle of the second round, at the earliest. Some big boards had him outside the top 100.
What makes Schefter’s report especially interesting is that Stribling wasn’t the receiver getting the most buzz in Rams draft chatter. USC’s Makai Lemon, Washington’s Denzel Boston and Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr. drew more attention, whether as possible first-round targets or names who could come into play in the early second.
Stribling was part of the conversation, but more as a Day 2 option or, before his rise, even a player who might last into Rounds 3 or 4. His college production didn’t match Lemon’s, but his size and speed gave him a different kind of appeal, with a slot role in an NFL offense seen as a possible fit.
That’s why the Rams’ interest, if real, matters. It suggests their board may have looked different from the way the rest of the league saw it. And that fits with how teams operate this time of year: the real plan usually stays hidden until the card is turned in.
It also helps explain why so many people were stunned by the Rams’ decision to reach for Ty Simpson with the 13th pick. If Los Angeles had come away with Simpson and Stribling, it would have been the ideal outcome from their perspective.
No first-round receiver? Fine.
There’s still another player they liked even more waiting later.
San Francisco, though, may have made sure that never became an option. By staying put instead of trading back, the 49ers kept Stribling out of reach for the Rams and, potentially, anyone else trying to move into position for him.
Even if the 49ers had slid back into the 40s, it’s hard to see the Rams and 49ers making a deal with each other. Los Angeles could have tried to get into range through another team, though that would have depended on the market.
The Rams had limited picks after trading for Trent McDuffie, but general manager Les Snead has shown he can work around that. Still, the 49ers removed the simplest path and left no chance for the Rams to double up on their draft wish list.
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