De'Zhaun Stribling

With Ricky Pearsall out for the year, Christian Kirk not practicing, and Mike Evans already dealing with a lower-body injury, Stribling could open the season as a legitimate top-two option in San Francisco's offense. That's a dramatic shift for a player who was projected as the fourth receiver on the depth chart just months ago. Deebo Samuel's signing adds competition, but he and Stribling don’t run the same routes. The underlying college profile is impressive. Stribling posted an 89th-percentile PFF receiving grade and a 90th-percentile yards after catch per reception (7.3) at Ole Miss, and he had just one drop on 56 catchable targets. His 4.36 forty confirms the speed is legit. As Matt Harmon notes, he "shows flashes of strong separation skills against man coverage" and is "a credible ball-winner in the open field." The 49ers have 145 vacated targets and Brock Purdy's 96th-percentile EPA and 98th-percentile CPOE means those targets will convert efficiently. Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle are significant competing options, but the volume is there to be had. Stribling’s ADP has risen to WR49 which seems to assume that he’ll ascend to a starting role and at least a 70% snap rate. There are a wide range of outcomes here, but given the steady drumbeat of positive news out of camp, Samuel’s gadget role, and Evans’ injury history, there are multiple paths for Stribling to get on the field.