I love my San Francisco 49ers. What I don’t love is the picks they took in the 2026 NFL Draft. I won’t pretend to know Romello Height’s relative production ability compared to other edge rushers in this class, but I have compared De’Zhaun Stribling and Kaelon Black to the rest of the class. And, well… they had other players on the board who do the same sort of things, but better (Chris Brazzell and Mike Washington, respectively). So, I could be more excited about these picks. But Stribling has some fantasy value, and Black might once Christian McCaffrey fully hits the skids. Let’s dive into the 2026 San Francisco 49ers’ draft class for fantasy football.
Round 2, Pick 33 Overall: De’Zhaun Stribling, WR
TALENT
Stribling was a player that I watched late in the process; he didn’t make his way onto my radar until extremely late. And, to be honest, I don’t hate what I saw with the Ole Miss prospect. Let’s start with the most fun part: this dude blocks his ass off. More than once, I watched him upend an unsuspecting defensive back who deigned to be within his reach. That’s probably the most fun part of his game, but I am a run game sicko who loves to see that sort of thing.
For fantasy football purposes, Stribling is a big and fast receiver (4.36 40-yard dash), the exact type of receiver that makes fantasy football players go gaga. That having been said, he is unlikely to be a consistent fantasy football asset. He is a great downfield player and can get chunk gains as a rotational player in an offense, but he lacks suddenness in his change-of-direction, and as such, is mostly resigned to go balls and slants. He has the kind of size-speed profile that will get fantasy managers up in arms, but they are likely to get frustrated with him in lineup leagues. He won’t ever be a #1 receiver, and he’s more likely to be a high-end WR3 in the NFL.
NFL Comparison Romeo Doubs
Draft Grade: Round 3
2026 OPPORTUNITY
The 49ers have a lot of weapons on offense. But Christian McCaffrey is circling the drain, George Kittle is coming off a torn ACL, Ricky Pearsall seemingly can’t finish a game without an injury, and the reinforcements (Mike Evans and Christian Kirk) have their best years behind them. So, that leaves a lot of room for Stribling to make his way onto the field in his rookie year, just not right away. The Niners ended up so depleted at the end of the season that they gave Kyle Juszczyk, DeMarcus Robinson, and Jake Tonges a combined 22 targets in their two playoff games last season. So, attrition could be a reason why Stribling gets a chance to play this season, though there’s a non-zero chance that the 49ers will finally have a speed element that they’ve been searching for for years.
The 49ers tried the speed threat with Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowing, and Danny Gray, but none were any good, so they have a combined 132 yards. So, we could see a brand new wrinkle in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. That said, that’s a lot of ifs in what is ultimately an offense without much certainty heading into 2026.
2026 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Without some incredibly good news about Stribling between now and draft season, I don’t see a world where I click the button on the rookie, to be honest. He could be a priority add at some point along the way, but he isn’t someone I am particularly interested in drafting and stashing, at least not in ten and twelve-team leagues. For dynasty purposes, the 49ers are an old team, with the Christians Kirk & McCaffrey turning 30, and George Kittle & Mike Evans turning 33. This means that Stribling could easily find the targets ahead of him loosening up if he proves himself.
And for best ball, he’s a cheap stack if you end up with Brock Purdy, and his profile lends itself to long touchdowns. You could do worse in the last 25% of the draft if you already have Purdy on your roster.
Round 3, Pick 90 Overall: Kaelon Black, RB
TALENT
Black is a fun running back to watch because he hits the hole so incredibly hard when he gets a chance to just power through it. It’s fun to watch him do this because he will bend the defense back, like when you see a slow-motion replay of a projectile being shot at a balloon that doesn’t break. The whole thing deforms around him. This is because he is usually carrying defenders with him. That having been said, that’s the best (and only good) part of his game, as he is a north-south two-down banger, though he is likely the apex predator of that form (recently embodied by guys like Isiah Pacheco and Brian Robinson). Black has great contact balance and makes good, subtle adjustments to angles to maximize his runs, but that’s all there really is to his game.
NFL Comparison: Isiah Pacheco
Draft Grade: Round 4
2026 OPPORTUNITY
Since the 49ers traded for Christian McCaffrey, he has been one of the most-used running backs in the NFL. Last season, he finished with an 84% snap share (#2) and an 81% opportunity share (#3). Despite leaving games early and missing most of the season, the 49ers still rode CMC hard in 2024, as he ranked fifth and twelfth in those stats in the games he played. In 2023, he was third and fifth, respectively. The 49ers are likely looking to downshift CMC to elongate his lifespan (he will turn 30 this season), but there’s a long row to hoe for Black to wrest touches away from McCaffrey as long as he is valuable to the 49ers.
There is the elephant in the room of McCaffrey’s below-average rushing efficiency last season (3.9 yards per carry), but rotating Black in on rushing downs is just telegraphing what the 49ers will do, and destroying McCaffrey’s value. I doubt he sees much of the field outside of a change-of-pace role unless McCaffrey suffers an injury.
2026 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Black is the type of running back that Kyle Shanahan has turned into a valuable fantasy asset in the past, with guys like Elijah Mitchell, Raheem Mostert, and Matt Breida making the fantasy points machine go brr. Unfortunately, the Christian McCaffrey of it all looms over any 2026 value Black might have. Unless CMC has his worst season to date (or if he suffers an injury), there is little chance that Black has enough opportunity to matter. But, he is an extremely valuable handcuff, given the 49ers’ proclivity to ride their running backs hard and put them away wet. In that case, he’s worth a stash in deeper leagues and worth a click in the later portion of best ball drafts. He’s the next future of the 49ers, so of course, you already know that you’re going to fall for it and take him in dynasty rookie drafts.
