De'Zhaun Stribling Has Already Earned Brock Purdy's Trust

At some point, training-camp hype needs to turn into actual production.

De'Zhaun Stribling has done that.

San Francisco's rookie receiver followed a strong start to camp with seven catches for 63 yards in his preseason debut.

Then he caught four more passes for 46 yards in his second game.

Through two preseason appearances:

11 catches.

109 yards.

13 targets.

And this isn't coming out of nowhere.

Brock Purdy was talking about Stribling before the games even started.

Purdy Already Trusts Him

One of my favorite quotes about any rookie receiver this summer came from Purdy.

He praised Stribling's understanding of route depths, alignments and details and said the rookie had already shown the offense that he was reliable and trustworthy.

That's important.

Rookie wide receivers don't get on the field simply because they're athletic.

They have to earn quarterback trust.

They have to line up correctly.

They have to understand adjustments.

They have to be where the quarterback expects them to be.

Stribling appears to be ahead of schedule there.

The Draft Capital Wasn't Small Either

San Francisco selected Stribling 33rd overall.

He was essentially a first-round investment.

The 49ers clearly expected him to contribute.

His college production also wasn't built around one random breakout season.

Across four college seasons, Stribling finished with 261 catches, 2,964 yards and 23 touchdowns.

Now we're seeing that production translate immediately.

Then He Did It Against NFL Competition

Preseason statistics can fool us.

That's why the context matters.

Stribling's seven-catch debut came while seeing significant action against Tennessee's first-team defense.

Then he followed it with another productive game against the Chargers.

This isn't one 60-yard busted-coverage touchdown creating a misleading box score.

He's consistently getting open and catching passes.

That's much more interesting.

The Shoulder Injury Needs to Be Mentioned

Stribling is currently working through a shoulder injury.

San Francisco labeled him day-to-day, and he has returned to practice wearing a non-contact jersey.

That is something I'm monitoring.

I'm not treating it as a major reason to fade him right now because he's already back on the field.

But rookie receivers need reps.

If the shoulder lingers into Week 1, the early-season expectations need to come down slightly.

San Francisco Has Opportunity

The 49ers receiver room has talent.

Mike Evans is here.

Deebo Samuel is back.

Christian Kirk is also part of the picture.

But the group has dealt with injuries throughout camp, and Stribling keeps earning opportunities with Purdy.

That's what makes this different from drafting a rookie who needs three players ahead of him to get injured.

Stribling looks capable of earning snaps on his own.

The question is whether those snaps eventually become enough targets for weekly fantasy relevance.

His ADP Is Starting to Catch Up

This is the other important part.

Stribling isn't completely free anymore.

His PPR ADP has moved to around the 120s overall.

That puts him into the range where we're choosing between several upside receivers and running-back handcuffs.

I'm still interested.

But there is a price where preseason hype becomes fully baked in.

My Fantasy Read

De'Zhaun Stribling is one of my favorite rookie receiver bets.

Second-round draft capital.

Early chemistry with Brock Purdy.

Strong camp reports.

11 catches through two preseason games.

And a realistic path to playing immediately.

The shoulder is worth monitoring, and I'm not projecting him to suddenly become San Francisco's target leader.

But I don't need that.

At his price, I'm betting on the rookie who keeps giving the coaching staff reasons to put him on the field.

So far, Stribling has done everything we could have asked.