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Wide receiver De\u2019Zhaun Stribling of\u00a0Ole Miss runs\u00a0upfield during a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game against Georgia on Jan. 1\u00a0at the Superdome in New Orleans.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nick Tre. Smith\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Ole Miss wide receiver De\u2019Zhaun Stribling\u00a0speaks to reporters during the NFL scouting combine at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis on\u00a0Feb.\u00a027.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Michael Hickey\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Fans attend the concert of\u00a0Wiz Khalifa and Bret Michaels on Friday prior to Round Two of the 2026 NFL Draft at\u00a0Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jason Miller\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
After making two trades Thursday night, the San Francisco 49ers<\/a> finally made a pick Friday.<\/p>\n The 49ers made the first selection of the second round of the NFL draft, No. 33 overall, after they did some wheeling and dealing in the first round. The 49ers moved back six spots with their two trades, swapping a fourth-round pick in exchange for a third-rounder and adding a fifth-round selection. The 49ers wound up with a new total of seven picks: Nos. 33 (second round), 58 (second), 90 (third), 127 (fourth), 133 (fourth), 139 (fourth) and 179 (fifth).<\/p>\n On Thursday night, general manager John Lynch<\/a> indicated the Niners had a player in mind at No. 33 on Friday.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a good idea where we\u2019re going,\u201d Lynch said, \u201cand looking forward to that.\u201d<\/p>\n The 49ers\u2019 areas of need include edge rusher, wide receiver, guard and safety.<\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Second round (No. 33): De\u2019Zhaun Stribling, WR, Mississippi<\/p>\n Former 49ers punter Andy Lee walks offstage after announcing the team’s first pick,\u00a033rd overall, on Friday during the second round of\u00a0the NFL draft at\u00a0Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.\u00a0<\/p>\n Emilee Chinn\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Thirteen months after the 49ers\u2019 top three wide receivers were Deebo Samuel<\/a>, Brandon Aiyuk<\/a> and Jauan Jennings<\/a>, they\u2019ve completely remade the position. The 49ers\u2019 finished their overhaul by selecting the speedy Stribling with the first pick of the second round.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Stribling (6-foot-2, 207 pounds) ran the 40-yard dash in 4.36 seconds at the combine after he had 107 catches for 1,693 yards and 12 touchdowns in his final two seasons (playing at Oklahoma State in 2024). He could help the 49ers address their need for more speed on offense after the top speed by a ball carrier last season was recorded by a defensive player (linebacker Dee Winters, who hit 20.15 mph on a pick-six).<\/p>\n Stribling joins a still potent offense that ranked seventh in the NFL last season, but is headlined by aging\u00a0playmakers. Last year, running back Christian McCaffrey<\/a> averaged 3.9 yards a carry, the second-lowest average of his nine-season career, and had one run over 20 yards. Tight end George Kittle<\/a> will turn 33 in November and is recovering from a torn Achilles. Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Evans<\/a>, 32, was signed in March, and entering his 13th NFL season isn\u2019t known as a deep threat.<\/p>\n \u201cWe noticeably were slower this year than we have been in years past,\u201d head coach\u00a0Kyle Shanahan<\/a> said in January. \u201cSometimes that\u2019s substituted for a better football player. That doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re always worse because of that. But you definitely need more\u00a0speed\u00a0out there for some of the situations that come up versus certain schemes and certain defenses.\u201d<\/p>\n The 49ers selected Stribling instead of Washington\u2019s Denzel Boston, who was widely regarded as the better prospect by draft analysts. However, Boston, who is similarly sized (6-4, 212), lacks Stribling\u2019s wheels. He elected not to run the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine. The Browns selected Boston six spots later at No. 39.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The 49ers\u2019 leading receiver the past two seasons was Jennings, who ran a plodding 40-yard dash (4.72 seconds) at his combine. The 49ers aren\u2019t re-signing Jennings, who remains a free agent, after trading Samuel to the Commanders in March 2025. The 49ers will trade or release Aiyuk before the regular season. Stribling will join a wide receiver corps that\u2019s now headlined by Evans and 2024 first-round pick Ricky Pearsall.<\/p>\n Stribling indicated he had limited contract with the 49ers before he was drafted, not speaking with Lynch or Shanahan until he received the call from the 49ers on Friday.<\/p>\n In 2025, Stribling had 55 catches for 811 yards and six touchdowns, with just one drop. Draft analysts noted Stribling, with his large frame, is a willing and effective run blocker, which is a quality he highlighted.<\/p>\n \u201cI can do a lot of things and also block at a high level,\u201d Stribling said. \u201cSo I\u2019m very excited go out there and contribute in the pass game, but also the run game.\u201d<\/p>\n Shanahan emphasizes blocking with his wide receivers, and wide receivers coach Leonard Hankerson has a mantra: \u201cNo block, no rock.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Last year the 49ers averaged 106.9 rushing yards per game, their fewest since 2017, and managed 3.8 yards per carry. Shanahan said earlier this month that the uncharacteristic performance was partly tied to poor blocking from wide receivers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt goes to the scheme, it goes to a couple runs from the backs, and it goes to not blocking on the perimeter as well as I feel we have in the past,\u201d Shanahan said.<\/p>\n Third round (No. 70): Romello Height, edge rusher, Texas Tech<\/p>\n Texas Tech defensive end Romello Height celebrates a defensive stop against BYU in the first half of a Big 12 Conference championship NCAA college football game Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.<\/p>\n Julio Cortez\/Associated Press<\/p>\n Last season, the 49ers had three fewer sacks than Cleveland\u2019s Myles Garrett. Not surprisingly, their second draft pick was made with avoiding further such futility in mind.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n After posting an NFL-worst 20 sacks in 2025, the 49ers grabbed Height (6-3, 239), who had 9.5 sacks last season and ranked second in the Big 12 with 62 QB pressures, trailing only his teammate, David Bailey, the No. 2 pick of the Jets on Thursday.<\/p>\n Height, 25, played six college seasons at four schools. He\u2019s undersized for the position but has excellent burst (40-yard dash: 4.64 seconds). He profiles as a situational pass rusher behind starting defensive ends Nick Bosa<\/a> and Mykel Wiliams<\/a>, the No. 11 pick in 2025.<\/p>\n At 239 pounds, Height will stick out in his new position group. He\u2019s about 30 pounds lighter than the 49ers\u2019 top three edge rushers: Bosa (266 pounds), Wiliams (267) and Sam Okuayinonu (269).<\/p>\n Height said he expected to add weight, but the 49ers could have a unique role in mind for him under new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.<\/p>\n At the combine, Height said he met with 49ers linebacker coach K.J. Wright, not defensive line coach Kris Kocurek. Last year, when Morris was the Falcons head coach, Atlanta used the No. 15 pick on Jalon Walker, a hybrid linebacker\/defensive end at Georgia who played both positions as an NFL rookie.<\/p>\n Height made stops at Auburn (2020-2021), USC (2022-2023) and Georgia Tech (2024) before finishing at Texas Tech. He had 23.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in his final three seasons, production he credited to his quick first step.<\/p>\n \u201cThe get-off is the key to pass rush,\u201d Height said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to have great get-off. I just emphasize that and continue to work on it. I\u2019m not going to say I perfected it, but it\u2019s a huge deal that I continue to work on.\u201d<\/p>\n The 49ers\u2019 20 sacks last season were six fewer than any other team. They were also the fewest in franchise history in a non-strike year and matched the sixth fewest in the league since 2016.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t solely due to a lack of talent. Bosa and Williams suffered torn ACLs and combined to miss 22 games. Still, their sack leaders were Bryce Huff and Clelin Ferrell, who had four apiece. Huff retired in March and Ferrell, who was signed off the Chargers\u2019 practice squad last year, wasn\u2019t re-signed and remains a free agent.<\/p>\n On Monday, Lynch noted he and Shanahan emphasized building a disruptive defensive line when they were hired in 2017. The 49ers have used their first pick on a defensive lineman in five of their 10 drafts.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the great equalizer in today\u2019s football,\u201d Lynch said. \u201cSo much is set up for the offense to have success. Can you put that quarterback under duress? \u2026 We fell short of that last year. Are there some reasons? Absolutely. Nick Bosa was hurt. Mykel got hurt halfway through. But I think we need to get better in that spot. We need to get these guys back healthy, and then we need to improve there.\u201d<\/p>\n Third round (No. 90): Kaelon Black, running back, Indiana<\/p>\n A sixth-year senior, Black split time at running back for the national champion Hoosiers. He ran for 1,040 yards on 186 carries, averaging 5.6 yards per carry, with 10 rushing touchdowns. Starter\u00a0Ronan Hemby rushed 230 times for 1,120 yards and seven touchdowns.<\/p>\n Standing at 5-foot-9 and 211 pounds, Black was a non-factor in the passing game, making only four catches for 36 yards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Wide receiver De\u2019Zhaun Stribling of\u00a0Ole Miss runs\u00a0upfield during a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game against Georgia on Jan.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":284868,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[1818,1736,299,17640,101,296,103,102,104,106,105,127],"class_list":{"0":"post-284867","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco","8":"tag-49ers","9":"tag-john-lynch","10":"tag-kyle-shanahan","11":"tag-nfl-draft","12":"tag-san-francisco","13":"tag-san-francisco-49ers","14":"tag-san-francisco-headlines","15":"tag-san-francisco-news","16":"tag-sf","17":"tag-sf-headlines","18":"tag-sf-news","19":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
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