Maybe 49ers big 2nd-round reach in NFL draft wasn't actually a reach

There was something bordering on panic when it was announced the San Francisco 49ers selected wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling with the No. 33 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft. San Francisco moved out of the spot that Indiana WR Omar Cooper was selected.

Then they took Stribling with Washington WR Denzel Boston still on the board. Both players were tied to the 49ers in the leadup to the draft, so the fact they selected neither and opted for a previously off-the-radar choice was jarring. For Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer it wasn't a real shock.

Breer wrote in SI that he sensed entering the draft that Stribling was tabbed to go early in the second round despite a lack of chatter about him in that area of multi-round mocks. "If you would have asked me before the draft began when I thought the Ole Miss receiver would be drafted," Breer wrote, "I’d have guessed he’d go 35th to the Titans. " Breer also noted "Stribling was more highly thought of than the public knew.

" It would've been interesting to see what the reaction to the selection would've been had this information come out prior to the draft. Breer points to Central Florida edge rusher Malachi Lawrence as a late riser who went to the Cowboys at No. 23 overall.