Michael Crabtree, San Francisco 49ers
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The San Francisco 49ers fell 19-13 to the Tennessee Titans on Aug. 13 at Levi’s Stadium. While the score isn’t important, what’s more important is how players look as the 2026 NFL season nears.
One of the standout performers was rookie wideout De’Zhaun Stribling, who the Niners took in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Despite being in Year 1, Stribling showed that he might be an impact receiver right out of the gate.
Stribling caught seven passes for 63 yards, averaging 9.0 yards per reception. Furthermore, his longest catch went for 32 yards. While it’s one performance in a preseason game, Grant Cohn of 49ers on SI noted that the rookie wideout reminds the reporter of another former Niners receiver in Michael Crabtree.
“I thought [Stribling] was excellent,” Cohn said in an Aug. 13 video on his X account. “He was the star of the first half. He doesn’t create a ton of separation, but he is big, he’s fast, he’s a downfield threat. This team doesn’t have a downfield threat, and he makes contested catches; big hands.
“He’s like Michael Crabtree with speed, and he’s gonna be in the slot a lot and I really hope the Niners don’t take him off the field so they can play Kyle freaking Juszczyk this year. This needs to be the year where they finally make the three-wide receiver formation their base personnel.”
Kyle Shanahan on De’Zhaun Stribling’s Peformance
Furthermore, after San Francisco’s first preseason game, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke to reporters and shared his thoughts on Stribling’s performance against the Titans.
“It seemed good,” Shanahan told reporters after the game (h/t 95.7 The Game). “We’ll see when we watch the film. I thought he struggled a little bit on the first drive, but I think he got three drives after that and seemed like he executed all the stuff that went to him.
“I liked how his hands looked out there and how he played physical. He’s moving around. We’re switching him up throughout the week, and he did a number of different things today too.”
Last season for the Ole Miss Rebels, Stribling played 338 pass snaps, leading to a 74.7 overall PFF grade. Moreover, he hauled in 43 receptions on 57 targets for 612 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Stribling also averaged 14.2 yards per reception and generated 335 yards after the catch.
49ers’ Kyle Shanahan on De’Zhaun Stribling Adapting to NFL
Stribling is looking to bring this production to the 49ers, and Shanahan spoke about the adjustment that the wideout is having going from college to the NFL.
“He’s handling it well. It was tough when he got hurt. He missed that week, and now he’s been back for, I believe, a week. Hopefully, he can string together two more of these weeks because he’s going about it the right way. As long as he gets those reps and continues to do what he’s been doing, he should be ready for the season.”
With Ricky Pearsall out for the season, Stribling could be one of the players that the Niners lean on to fill whatever plans the team had for the third-year wide receiver.
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Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo
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