49ers scouts rave about team's top pick, why he earned 'gold helmet'
The San Francisco 49ers don't believe they reached at all with their first pick of the 2026 NFL draft. Three scouts explained why.
There was an immediate uproar when the San Francisco 49ers called wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling's name with the No. 33 pick in the NFL draft. It was a 'reach' according to most NFL draft analysts, but 49ers scouts pushed back on that idea in a conversation with NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco.
Wide receiver was one of the 49ers' top needs in this year's draft, and they moved back twice to get out of the first round. In the process they landed the top pick of the second round where they selected Stribling ahead of a handful of WRs ranked ahead of him by the NFL draft analyst consensus. It made sense.
He played five college seasons for three different schools, never eclipsed 900 receiving yards in a season, and only cleared 100 yards once in the 2025 season. For the 49ers, there was more to the selection than his stats. They were eyeing intangibles.
"Gold helmet is everything," vice president of player personnel Tariq Ahmad told Maiocco. "And he checked all those boxes. He’s kind of a unique guy.