Who Should I Start? Tre Tucker or De'Zhaun Stribling

Monday, August 10, 3:41 PM

Grant Cohn of Sports Illustrated said at training camp on Monday that he thinks San Francisco 49ers rookie second-round wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling is the "best wide receiver on the whole team" right now and is the only WR "that you need to fear." Stribling is big and fast and is fearless over the middle of the field. He missed some practice time last week with a minor hamstring issue, but he returned to team drills over the weekend and should be fine moving forward. Cohn doesn't know that veteran wideout and future Hall of Famer Mike Evans (quadriceps) is going to save this offense, so the Niners will likely ask a lot of Stribling in his first year in the NFL, even after the reunion with veteran pass-catcher Deebo Samuel Sr. Most draft pundits thought the 49ers reached when they took Stribling with the first pick in the second round in April, but he has the size and high football IQ to surprise some folks, especially now that Ricky Pearsall (knee) is out for the year. Assuming Stribling stays healthy all year, he should be a top two or three receiver for San Francisco in 2026.