Wide Receiver · San Francisco 49ers

De'Zhaun Stribling

No. 15 · Rookie

The polarizing pick is starting to show up on people's radars

Not everyone loved this pick when it happened. Rookies who arrive with a question mark tend to either answer it fast or disappear into the depth chart. Stribling is doing something in between — quietly, which is sometimes how the real ones start.

Not much was handed to him coming in. The 49ers' offense under Kyle Shanahan asks a lot of its wide receivers — timing, route precision, the ability to win in small spaces. That's a hard place to break through as a rookie. It's also a place where a receiver who fits can find real opportunity.

Something has shifted. Stribling's name is appearing on sleeper lists, which usually means people who watch tape closely have seen enough to believe. The polarizing part is fading. The interesting part is just getting started.

What happens when a player who wasn't supposed to be ready turns out to be ready? That's the question Stribling is quietly putting in front of everyone right now.

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