SANTA CLARA - The 49ers’ wide receiver group has gone from crowded to fragile in a hurry.
Mike Evans, Christian Kirk and Jacob Cowing are all dealing with injuries, and Ricky Pearsall is already done for the season. What looked like one of the roster’s deepest spots when camp opened now feels a lot thinner, a lot faster.
That’s why De’Zhaun Stribling keeps coming up. With a month left before the 49ers open the season in Australia against the Rams, it’s hard to ignore the rookie’s case for immediate playing time.
For years, Kyle Shanahan has made life difficult for rookie receivers. Brandon Aiyuk spent his first two seasons there.
Deebo Samuel was stuck there until the team traded for Emmanuel Sanders to show him how to do things Kyle’s way. Pearsall had trouble earning consistent snaps as a rookie too, even after returning from his gun-shot injury.
Stribling, though, is putting together the kind of summer that can crack that pattern.
Training camp can exaggerate everything a receiver does well. Beating second-string corners for a contested catch is nice, but it doesn’t tell the whole story.
Shanahan’s offense asks for more, especially from young wideouts. It wants physicality in the run game.
It wants a player who will mix it up.
That part is exactly why the 49ers took Stribling with the 33rd overall pick, even though he didn’t match the “consensus” boards.
Wide receivers coach Leonard Hankerson pointed to a specific moment from Ole Miss, when Stribling lined up against Miami defensive end Reuben Bain in the Fiesta Bowl.
“They were asking him to cross-sift - lining up on one side of the ball, going across, and [blocking] the defensive end. I’m not saying it always worked in his favor, but he did not turn it down,” Hankerson said. “When you see guys on tape who had 800 or 900 yards as a receiver stick their face in against top-five; first-round defensive ends, it speaks a lot about them.”
That’s the kind of edge Shanahan asks for, even if the reward is a little punishment along the way.
Stribling has carried that same attitude into camp. He’s got an NFL-ready build, a willingness to take on contact and hands big enough to make life miserable for defensive backs. Wearing No. 15, he’s starting to look like the next version of Jauan Jennings - the grinder who does the dirty work - only with more pure athletic juice.
“I call him ‘The Flying Hawaiian’ because he’s so fast,” quarterback Mac Jones said earlier this week. “Some guys, they can be really quick, but they’re not as strong - he has both.”
From the media’s view of practice, the ball keeps finding him for a reason. And when he’s not out there, the offense can look a little less sharp.
That leaves the obvious question: if Stribling is blocking like a tight end and making contested catches like a veteran, what’s supposed to keep him on the sideline?
Hankerson didn’t really have an answer. He smiled, talked about the process and getting better every day, then moved on. Sometimes the absence of a real explanation says plenty.
The 49ers initially planned to use Stribling in the flanker spot in three-receiver sets, but the injuries around him could force a broader role. Evans is the top receiver in the group, though he has also dealt with a hamstring injury in each of the last five seasons and is currently working through a quad injury. Stribling has also been getting plenty of work at “X.”
There’s also Deebo Samuel, whom the Niners brought in to play Z. He looks good in camp, but he might be better suited for work in the backfield this season.
Those screen passes and quick slants, at least so far, are not hitting. Moving from flanker to Z isn’t a major jump anyway since both are off-ball spots.
Behind them, the picture gets murkier. Christian Kirk’s role in this offense is still unclear because nobody has seen it yet.
Jordan Watkins gets open often, but he has multiple drops in practice. DeMarcus Robinson has bounced back and forth between looking like a reliable veteran and someone on the bubble.
Cowing wasn’t doing enough to lock down a roster spot before his injury.
Among the healthy options, Stribling has been the most consistently impressive. And with a full month of preseason still to play, that matters.
Of course, the 49ers’ injury luck is never far away, and Stribling’s own hamstring could become an issue at any moment. Still, the early returns are hard to miss.
When John Lynch and the 49ers picked Stribling, plenty of people called it a reach. Four months later, it’s starting to look like a smart one.
He was drafted for the long term. Right now, the short term may need him even more. Patience is not exactly a luxury the 49ers have at receiver, and Stribling doesn’t look like he’s waiting around for permission anyway.
In Other News...
Jordan Watkins Suddenly Has A Real Shot To Break Through For 49ers
Jordan Watkins never got much of a runway in his rookie season, with injury limiting his chances to show what the 49ers thought they were getting when they took him on Day 3. Now the landscape looks different. San Franciscos receiver room has been thinned out by a string of injuries and absences, and that has opened a much better path for Watkins to get meaningful preseason work and make a case that he belongs in the mix.
For a player trying to carve out a place on a roster with limited openings, that kind of opportunity matters. Watkins is no longer just another young wideout trying to catch up after a lost start to his career. With the 49ers looking for help on offense and special teams, he has a real chance to press for a role that goes beyond camp depth, and the next few weeks may go a long way in determining whether he can turn that into something bigger. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Camp Injuries Reopen A Familiar Offensive Line Debate
Training camp has a way of turning every depth question into a roster test, and the 49ers are feeling it again up front. The latest injuries have put a familiar spotlight on left guard, where San Francisco has spent enough time searching for stability over the years to know how quickly one spot can ripple through the whole offensive line.
For that reason, the free-agent market still has a couple of names that make sense as the camp grind wears on. Veteran help is always appealing in August, and the 49ers know the value of players who already understand the system and the standard. San Francisco has at least two former linemen in that conversation, with one recently working back from an offseason procedure and the other openly interested in a return, leaving the door cracked if the team decides experience is the best short-term answer. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Camp Battle Is Heating Up In Two Crucial Defensive Spots
The 49ers eighth day of training camp came with the usual mix of missing veterans, fresh reps and a little more clarity about where this defense is headed. Brock Purdy helped keep the offense lively with a 60-yard touchdown strike to KhaDarel Hodge, but the bigger camp story has been on the other side of the ball, where Raheem Morris is installing a more versatile hybrid scheme and asking a lot of younger players as the roster starts to take shape.
A new fever backer role has added another layer to the competition, especially with camp battles unfolding in two spots that could matter once the season gets moving. Several defenders are being pushed into new responsibilities, and the cross-training has become part of the evaluation process as the 49ers sort out who can handle the demands of the scheme and who can help stabilize a defense that is still very much under construction. [Read more 🡒]