In the first three rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft, De'Zhaun Stribling's story might be the wildest one yet. The Ole Miss WR met with almost half of the league as a Top 30 visitor, but had "little communication" with the team that drafted him.
The San Francisco 49ers were one of the very few names not discussed in Stribling's potential landing spots. No one in the whole draft board saw it coming. The Niners moving down twice in the first round indicated they were onto something, but never did anyone expect Stribling at No. 33.
Not even Stribling.
De'Zhaun Stribling's response to Niners call was expected
"I definitely had a little communication in this whole process," Stribling saids of the Niners.
In fact, the first time he communicated was when the draft pick call came informing him of his new home.
"I haven’t met with them [Shanahan and Lynch] yet,” Stribling added. “First time hearing from them, so excited to know more about them and have some more conversations."
In their defense, the Niners do have a history of banking on the undermined draft players, especially the ones not on their visit list.
The lead-up to Stribling's pick takes every Niner fan back to the 2018 NFL Draft, when Mike McGlinchey, a Top-10 pick by the Niners, didn't have a single visit with them either.
"But very excited to be here, very excited to come in and work, contribute however I can and just help the team win."
Given how versatile of a wideout he is, Shanahan will have Stribling running routes on Sunday nights in no time.
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