De'Zhaun Stribling turned a strong week of training camp into a louder statement Tuesday, when the San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver hauled in an estimated seven passes against the Tennessee Titans in a joint practice. Brock Purdy said the day showed the rookie making plays against a different NFL defense, a sign the 49ers are getting more than practice flashes out of him.
The timing matters because the 49ers hosted the Tennessee Titans at Levi's Stadium on Thursday night for a preseason matchup, leaving Stribling one more chance to turn a camp surge into something that carries into games that count. Purdy said he has a lot of trust in Stribling right now because the rookie understands leverages, coverages and the 49ers' concepts, and because he works in the run game and blocking as well as he does in the passing game.
Purdy also said Stribling has already shown he can do the job against the 49ers' own starting defense, but he liked even more what happened when the matchup changed. It was, in his words, cool to switch it up and see Stribling make plays, run the offense on time and do his job against players the 49ers had not faced before. That kind of showing is what has helped Stribling build trust inside the huddle during training camp.
Still, the praise came with a warning that fits the way rookies are handled in San Francisco. Kyle Shanahan said the more Stribling is out there, the more confident he will get, but he also said the receiver will fail a number of times in practice before he gets through it. Shanahan said the 49ers believe Stribling has the right stuff, and that those ups and downs are part of getting him ready for Week 1.
That leaves the next step clear. Stribling has already made himself noticed in camp and in the joint practice, but the real test is whether that clean work keeps showing up when the speed changes and the mistakes start to cost more. If he keeps stacking chances the way he did Tuesday, the rookie will head toward Week 1 with the one thing that matters most for a young receiver: belief from both his quarterback and his coach.
