San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch has been receiving plenty of criticism as of late for the many reaches his team had throughout the 2026 NFL Draft, including Indiana running back Kaelon Black in Round 3 and Ole Miss wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling with the very first pick of the second round.
Black's case, in particular, is unique because the Niners had nearly all day on April 24 to consider the selection after trading down twice in Round 1 to bump their first pick to No. 33 overall.
And yet Stribling was widely viewed as a late second- or early third-round pick, at best. That classifies as a reach, and San Francisco is certainly hearing about it from analysts and pundits.
That said, the reach might be a bit easier to swallow if one takes something into consideration.
De'Zhaun Stribling isn't a 49ers reach if fans consider this perspective
Again, the 49ers traded down twice, the first taking place after the Cleveland Browns grabbed Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion, a prospect widely linked to Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan.
If Stribling was the No. 2 option on the Niners' big board, they seemed to understand his value 33rd overall wasn't great, which helps explain why NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported San Francisco was listening to calls for that pick leading up to the round's kickoff:
Trade action could continue into Round 2, where the 49ers are getting calls about the No. 33 pick. @gmfb @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/yzZDQsvLgq
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 24, 2026
From that vantage point, it appears as if the 49ers felt they could still trade down and land Stribling. However, no trade materialized, meaning Lynch and Shanahan either had to take the Ole Miss receiver at that point or wait and gamble on him being there 37 picks later when they were scheduled to be back on the clock.
The 49ers opted to go with the first choice.
That resulted in the pick being classified as a reach, sparking many of the criticisms going on right now.
Granted, should Stribling wind up being an impact player within a couple of years, no one will question the Niners' decision.
But if he flops, those criticisms ultimately won't go quiet despite San Francisco's apparent realization Stribling wasn't a 33rd-overall-caliber prospect.
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