De'Zhaun Stribling Fantasy Football Outlook With San Francisco 49ers
NFL Draft

De'Zhaun Stribling Fantasy Football Outlook With San Francisco 49ers

Joe Metz breaks down the surprise of Round 2 and what it means for fantasy football as De'Zhaun Stribling is set to take his talents to the Bay Area.

The first surprise of Day 2 of the NFL Draft happened quite literally as quickly as it could, with the San Francisco 49ers surprising the masses and drafting De'Zhaun Stribling with the very first pick in Round 2.

Let's dive into De'Zhaun Stribling's fantasy football outlook with the Niners after earning far higher draft capital than anyone expected. For the rest of our draft coverage, follow along with our NFL Draft Guide.

SF_49ers-logo.svgDe'Zhaun Stribling Fantasy Football Outlook With The San Francisco 49ers

Coming into Day 2, Stribling found himself as the WR17 in Matthew Freedman's rookie rankings, illustrating just how low the expectations were for him entering the draft.

We can't assume that anymore, as Freedman now has Stribling sitting at WR8 after he landed with the Niners at pick No. 33. Similarly, Dwain McFarland's Rookie Super Model had Stribling rated as the WR19 prior to the landing spot. Now? He jumps to WR7 (as things currently stand).

To say he gets an upgrade would be a gross understatement, and it doesn't matter if you feel like it was a reach or not. The draft capital carries weight.

Stribling will step in and compete for the WR3 role behind Ricky Pearsall in the pass-catching room spearheaded by newcomer Mike Evans. Even with Pearsall and Evans around and Christian McCaffrey still demanding looks out of the backfield, Stribling could find himself with a bigger early-season role in the absence of George Kittle. It also helps that the 49ers offense is one of the higher-scoring units in the league with a fantasy-friendly QB in Brock Purdy.

Should You Plan To Draft De'Zhaun Stribling This Year?

Even with a massive jump in his Rookie Super Model rating and a healthy bump in Freedman's rookie rankings, it's going to be hard to trust Stribling in fantasy this season.

As things currently stand, we have him slated for 4.1 PPR points per game in our fantasy football projections. But, in an offense as deadly as the Niners', he must have some semblance of ceiling, right? Guess again. His XFinity Best projection for 2026 sits at a measly 5.3 PPR points per game.

So, to answer the pressing question ... should you plan to draft Stribling in 2026 fantasy football drafts? Absolutely not.

Could he be a player worthy of a spot on your taxi squad in dynasty leagues? Sure, but that's about as far as I'm willing to go.

2026 Scouting Report For De'Zhaun Stribling

Our own Dwain McFarland broke down Stribling from a scouting angle in his De'Zhaun Stribling prospect profile, noting:

"Stribling was considered a two- and three-star recruiting prospect out of Hawaii in the 2021 class. He carved out immediate playing time over his first two seasons, averaging 36 and 50 YPG at Washington State. He notched 1.04 and 1.28 RYPTPA marks.

He transferred to Washington State for two seasons as a four-star transfer portal WR. At Oklahoma State, a hand injury wiped out most of Year 3, and his best season was in Year 4 with 74 YPG and a 1.96 RYPTPA. He regressed to 1.55 in Year 5 with Ole Miss. 

  • Adjusted Career RYPTPA: 39th percentile
  • Targeted QB Passer Rating: 106.3, 53rd percentile

Stribling saw 73% of his targets between 0 and 19 yards, with a career aDOT of 11.5 (52nd percentile). He aligned wide on 81% of snaps and was a plus-player in YAC. His 6.0 average was +1 yard over expected after adjusting for aDOT.

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com sees Stribling as a WR4 for an NFL team with room to grow. His prospect grade is 6.17 (53rd percentile). He sees him as a plus YAC player who has work to do as an underneath route runner."