With teams on their month-long break from mid-June to mid-July in between minicamp and training camp, we’ve reached the deadest point of the NFL offseason.
But fortunately for football fans, there’s just three weeks left before training camp kicks off, followed by the preseason and regular season, which starts the week of Sept. 7.
Until then, we’ve done training camp previews and analyzed the top position battle to watch for all 32 teams. Next up in our offseason series is looking at one rookie from every team who could win a starting job in training camp this season, and today we’re looking at the San Francisco 49ers.
San Francisco’s 2026 Draft Class
- De’Zhaun Stribling, WR, Round 2
- Romello Height, DE, Round 3
- Kaelon Black, RB, Round 3
- Gracen Halton, DT, Round 4
- Carver Willis, OT, Round 4
- Ephesians Prysock, CB, Round 4
- Jaden Dugger, LB, Round 5
- Enrique Cruz Jr., OT, Round 5
The good news for the 49ers is their roster is already pretty well stacked that they don’t have very many holes to fill.
That said, the rookie with the best chance of winning a starting job in camp — perhaps the only one — is De’Zhaun Stribling given the uncertainty surrounding San Francisco’s WR corps.
Ricky Pearsall should be the No. 2 behind Mike Evans. But injuries have limited him to 11 games as a rookie and nine last year. He also hasn’t had a full season to build a rapport with quarterback Brock Purdy.
Christian Kirk could be a solid WR3, but he’s missed 18 games over the last three seasons due to injuries, and his health is a big wild card.
The 6-foot-2, 207-pound Stribling, who ran a 4.36 in the 40-yard dash, could be the difference-maker the 49ers have been searching for the last few years. Some say Stribling was drafted higher than the consensus had him at No. 33 overall, but San Francisco saw something it liked and didn’t want to risk losing him.
He’s a speedster who isn’t afraid of getting physical. Stribling can burn defensive backs downfield, he can win contested catches, he can make a big catch over the middle, and perhaps most important of all — he’s a home-run threat with the ball in his hands.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan is a master of building schemes to fit player’s skillsets, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Stribling had a 1,000-yard rookie year catching screen passes and quick strikes and taking them to the house.