When the 49ers passed on Omar Cooper Jr. in the draft, plenty of people figured that decision would come under a microscope all season long. San Francisco traded out of the first round altogether, then used its first pick of the second round on De’Zhaun Stribling - a move that caught a lot of draft watchers off guard, since many had projected Stribling to come off the board later in Round 2.
Cooper was the name many expected to land in San Francisco instead. The University of Indiana standout was tied to the 49ers in a lot of mock drafts, helped by a clear need at receiver and the pre-draft buzz comparing him to Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. That made the choice between the two feel like the kind of storyline that would be easy to revisit once the rookies started piling up real NFL snaps.
Instead, the first month of the season has left both players in nearly the same place.
Cooper was selected by the New York Jets at No. 30 overall and opened his rookie season with one catch for 30 yards before leaving with a high-ankle sprain. Stribling’s debut ended in a similar kind of frustration. He exited San Francisco’s season opener against the Los Angeles Rams in Australia with a left ankle deltoid ligament strain, and the expectation is that he’ll miss a good chunk of the year, with a possible return in late November.
That means the 49ers still don’t have a clean answer on whether they should have gone a different direction. Four weeks into the season, it would be too soon to call the pick a miss, especially with Stribling not even getting his first NFL catch before going down. But it’s also fair to say San Francisco would love to have him healthy right now, because the receiver room has already thinned out fast.
For now, the judgment is on hold. If Stribling gets back late in the season, the 49ers will hope he can give them another weapon when they’re trying to make a playoff push and another deep run in the postseason.
In Other News...
49ers Suddenly Have A Defensive Line Problem They Can't Ignore
The 49ers defensive front has already been stretched thin by injuries, and the timing could hardly be worse with a divisional meeting against the Seahawks coming up in Week 5. San Francisco has spent the early part of the season juggling availability and recovery on the line, while the defense as a whole has taken hits in production that make the issue impossible to brush aside.
Against that backdrop, the trade market is starting to loom larger than usual, with names like Vita Vea and Will McDonald IV surfacing as possible fits. The 49ers have not hidden the reality that help may be needed, but the bigger question is how aggressive they want to be, and whether they can patch the problem before another wave of missed games puts even more pressure on the rest of the defense. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Face A Seattle Test That Could Silence The Hype
The 49ers have spent the first month of the season drawing plenty of national praise, even with a long injury list hanging over them. Several major sports media outlets currently have San Francisco ranked No. 1 heading into Week 5, and The Athletics postseason simulator has the team with the best odds in the league to reach the playoffs, grab the top seed and win the Super Bowl. It is a flattering place to be this early, especially for a roster that has already had to navigate the kind of health issues that can quickly reshape a season.
Still, the schedule is about to offer a better read on how real all that hype is. San Francisco has a Seattle test on deck, and later matchups with undefeated teams like the Vikings and Chiefs will add even more pressure to the conversation. For all the early admiration, the 49ers have not yet gone through the full stretch of games that usually separates a favorite from a true contender. [Read more 🡒]
Brock Purdy Is Entering A New Conversation 49ers Fans Will Love
Brock Purdy keeps finding new company in the league conversation, and this one is especially flattering for the 49ers. Foxs Colin Cowherd recently held up Purdys early-season performance alongside Denver quarterback Bo Nix, using the contrast to underline how smooth and efficient Purdy has looked while others have worked through growing pains. For San Francisco, it is another sign that the quarterback taken last in 2021 has moved well beyond novelty and into something much bigger.
Purdys strong start to the 2026 season has him sitting among the leading MVP candidates, which is a remarkable place for a player who once entered the league with almost no draft-day fanfare. The more he stacks clean, composed performances, the more he seems to become a benchmark rather than a question, a standard other quarterbacks are measured against instead of the other way around. [Read more 🡒]