If one can remember all the way back to the NFL Draft, there was plenty of speculation about whom the San Francisco 49ers should take with their first-round pick. They ended up not taking anyone in the first round, as they traded out of the first round altogether, and wound up taking wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling with the first pick of the second round.
Not many had Stribling going to San Francisco, as a lot of analysts and draft experts thought he’d go later in Round 2.
Instead, many had mocked University of Indiana standout Omar Cooper Jr. to go to the Niners, given their need for a receiver and given the fact Cooper drew comparisons to Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk leading up to the draft.
It was going to be interesting to compare how the two receivers did in their rookie seasons to see whether the Niners made the right choice since they passed on Cooper multiple times.
Ironically, Cooper and Stribling find themselves in almost identical boats at this point in the season.
De'Zhaun Stribling, Omar Cooper Jr. have ironic injury parallel
Cooper ended up being drafted by the New York Jets at No. 30 overall. Just like Stribling, he suited up for his team’s season opener looking to make a good impression, and after one catch for 30 yards, he had to leave the game with a high-ankle sprain.
Stribling had to leave San Francisco’s first game of the season against the Los Angeles Rams in Australia because of an ankle injury, in his case, a left ankle deltoid ligament strain. The expectation is he's going to miss a good chunk of the season but could be back in late November, potentially. Sadly, he wasn’t even able to get his first NFL catch out of the way before going down.
So, for now, we have to reserve judgment on whether the 49ers made the right choice or not. Obviously, only four weeks into the season, it would be premature to declare the Niners completely whiffed, but they certainly wish that Stribling was still healthy because their wide receiver depth has quickly thinned.
One hopes he can come back healthy late in the year and help the 49ers make a playoff push because they will need as many weapons as possible as they try to make another deep run in the postseason.
Still, it will only be natural to keep an eye on Cooper to see if the Niners messed up by not drafting him.
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