1 49ers player in danger of losing starting job after OTAs

The San Francisco 49ers have a bright mind leading the way, even though head coach Kyle Shanahan overused his star player last season. And the team has high hopes for 2026, along with an interesting preseason position battle. And here is one 49ers player in danger of losing his starting job after OTAs.

It comes from the receiver room where veteran Mike Evans sits in the WR1 position. That’s firm. And Rickey Pearsall stands as a good bet to hold onto the WR2 spot.

However, things aren’t as secure at WR3. And that’s because of a talented rookie.

49ers WR Christain Kirk could lose starting spot

The 49ers reached a deal with Kirk back in March. It was a modest one-year deal, worth a reported $6 milliom. That’s far less than the three-year, $42.5 million contract given to Evans.

It looked like Kirk was a good fit as the third wide receiver. However, the 49ers changed that with their first pick of the 2026 NFL Draft. They grabbed 6-foot-2, 207-pound DeZhaun Stribling out of Ole Miss with the first pick of the second round.

And Stribling looks like the type of player who could make noise as a rookie. He needs some work, but he’s physically in the mold of an NFL starter, according to The Athletic.

“Stribling isn’t the most well-rounded in terms of his route success,” Dane Brugler wrote. “But he is a big-bodied athlete with strong ball skills and a pro mindset. He has the talent and competitive toughness to settle into a WR2/3 role for an NFL offense.

“With his tall, muscular frame, Stribling quickly accelerates to his top speed and has quickness out of route breaks, even if he didn’t put the most versatile route inventory on film. (He) plays strong to the football, but needs to do a better job with his positioning downfield to finish tight-window throws. His smarts and willingness to do the dirty work are coach-pleasing qualities.”

This compares to Kirk, who is an eight-year NFL veteran. Kirk had a big season with the Jaguars in 2022, but has largely been a secondary-type receiver. At 5-11 and 200 pounds, he’s not as physically imposing as Stribling.

Teammate Kyle Juszczyk said Stribling has impressed him, according to The Rich Eisen Show via Sports Illustrated.

“Stribling, he’s got a locker right next to me, and I’ve been super impressed with this guy,” Juszczyk said. “The maturity that he has for a rookie stood out to me right away. He looks like an absolute beast on the field. The way that he moves for his size is really impressive.

“Just watching him go through drills and seeing the explosion, the acceleration from a guy his size, the way he’s able to open up his strides so quickly. That really stood out to me and really impressed me.”

The 49ers had their eyes on Stribling all along, but were able to trade back a few spots and still get him, according to 49erswebzone.com.

“We would have taken Stribling at 30, if we had to pick, but to get to 33 and still get the guy we wanted [was ideal],” Shanahan said. “I think we added eight players who all have a very good chance of making our team, and on top of that, we added a sixth-round pick for next year, which I think’s huge because we didn’t have one.”

Quarterback Brock Purdy also endorsed Stribling as a major lineup threat, according to 49erswebzone.com.

“Stribling’s a guy that has a lot of raw talent,” Purdy said. “And just throwing routes on air and stuff to him, and getting a feel for how he moves, and his speed, he’s a guy that, once we obviously get him in the playbook a lot, and get reps with each other on the field, I feel like he’s going to be a guy that can come in and make an immediate impact.

“And so, Kyle and [wide receivers coach Leonard Hankerson] have done a really good job with just developing receivers and stuff. So, to have him in the fold, with the great receiving core that we have right now, it’s just amazing as a quarterback. I’m like, ‘Let’s go.’ ”

Time will tell if Stribling can beat out Kirk for the starting lineup spot. But things are trending that way early.

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