Chris Simms Expects 49ers Camp Battle Between De'zhaun Stribling, Ricky Pearsall

Chris Simms expects 49ers camp battle between De'Zhaun Stribling, Ricky Pearsall originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

There has been plenty of discourse in recent days about the 49ers’ selections in the 2026 NFL Draft, primarily around reaching for players too early.

San Francisco’s first pick — Ole Miss receiver De’Zhaun Stribling at No. 33 overall — inspired plenty of discussion among fans, as most mock drafts projected him to go much later.

But on the other hand, NFL on NBC analyst Chris Simms isn’t as intrigued by when the 49ers took Stribling. Instead, he’s curious about how the speedy wideout will fit into San Francisco’s pass-catching corps come the fall, especially after signing some big-name weapons in NFL free agency.

“They paid Mike Evans. There’s not going to be a battle there,” the former quarterback explained this week on “Chris Simms Unbuttoned.” “Christian Kirk is kind of his own thing, a little bit more of a slot guy and do that. But I look at it and go, wait, first off, the 49ers are a team that plays two back, one tight end, two receivers a lot, right?

“So, it’s going to be two guys on the field. I wouldn’t think at pick 33, that they want De’Zhaun Stribling not playing and being one of those one or two guys.”

Before the draft, 2024 first-round pick Ricky Pearsall was expected to be the receiver opposite Evans in most of those 21 personnel packages. But the addition of Stribling into the fold should complicate that arrangement.

That’s why Simms believes the two young receivers will have an interesting competition in training camp to win the favor of coach Kyle Shanahan in those situations.

“I just think this will be a sneaky camp battle here,” Simms continued. “And again, I know people are going to look at this and go, ‘Oh, he talked to Shanahan.’ And I have not talked to him about this at all. I’m just connecting dots, and I know how he plays, and I’m looking at it, and I think it’s going to be interesting to see with two high picks like this.”

Last season, the 49ers only had two receivers on the field for about half of their offensive snaps, co-host Connor Rogers added. So while many NFL teams operate out of 11 personnel — with three receivers on the field — at a rate of 60 percent or more, Shanahan used it about 43 percent of the time in 2025, which was fifth-lowest in the league.

In other words, Stribling and Pearsall still will have opportunities to share the field when the 49ers use three-receiver sets. But because Shanahan’s individual scheme doesn’t utilize that personnel as often as most teams, who emerges as San Francisco’s WR2 will be of added significance.

“I know they’ll all get on the field, but the base premise and the big plays from the 49ers usually come out of their 21 [personnel],” Simms concluded. “And that’s where I just go, that’s going to be interesting to see who gets on the field first between Stribling and Ricky Pearsall.”

Download and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast