Ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft, several San Francisco 49ers fans fell in love with wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr.
Draft crushes are inevitable, but some fans may not get over this one anytime soon.
It’s easy to understand why since Cooper was compared to both Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk ahead of the draft. Cooper seemed tailor-made for head coach Kyle Shanahan with his willingness to run block and his solid route running.
What made the Niners not getting Cooper even more painful is the fact they passed on him not once, but twice. San Francisco could've had him with the No. 27 overall pick, but it traded down to No. 30. Cooper was still there at 30, but the 49ers decided to trade down again.
That just shows San Francisco’s own internal evaluations were different than what the mock draft consensus and expert opinions were ahead of the draft.
Instead, the guy the 49ers seemed to be in love with was wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling. They selected him No. 33 overall, and it seems obvious they view him as a Jauan Jennings replacement, as evidenced by how they talked about Stribling after drafting him, combined with the fact the rookie was issued the jersey No. 15, which is the number Jennings wore with the Niners.
Inevitably, there are going to be comparisons between Stribling and Cooper going forward. If Cooper goes on to have a huge season with the New York Jets while Stribling doesn’t do much, there will inevitably be complaints the 49ers went with the wrong guy.
Unquestionably, Niners fans who were in the "draft Cooper" camp will complain about the results.
Of course, it seems unlikely Cooper will have a huge season since the Jets were awful, offensively, last season. But maybe he will turn into quarterback Geno Smith’s favorite target and put up some big numbers.
The thing with Stribling is he may have a tough time getting much playing time as a rookie; he’s got Mike Evans, Ricky Pearsall, and Christian Kirk ahead of him on the depth chart. Injuries could force him to play more, but it’s possible 2026 ends up being something of a redshirt year for him.
No matter what, expect the Stribling-versus-Cooper discourse to continue for a while, especially since plenty of fans fell in love with Cooper ahead of the draft and many may view him as the one who got away.
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