While it wasn't necessarily surprising to see the San Francisco 49ers trade out of the first round, their first selection of Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft was a bit of a shocker. More accurately, it was a total head-scratcher, and the second big win of the event for the Seahawks after landing Jadarian Price.
With other highly-touted wide receiver prospects and major needs on both sides of the trenches, GM John Lynch zagged when everybody else was zigging. He got the second day going by taking Ole Miss' De’Zhaun Stribling.
Stribling was No. 85 on NFL Mock Draft Database and projected to be a third-round selection in most mock drafts. As such, the Seahawks can only clap as a divisional rival wasted a prime opportunity to close the gap between them.
The 49ers' latest draft whiff is music to Seattle Seahawks' ears
Stribling is a great blocker and one of the sturdiest pass-catchers in the class. Blocking WRs are key to Kyle Shanahan's run-heavy scheme and whatnot, but that doesn't mean they should've taken him at least 40 picks ahead of schedule.
The 49ers will most likely lose Jauan Jennings in free agency and may trade or release Brandon Aiyuk at one point. Even so, they added Mike Evans, so they either don't think Ricky Pearsall will ever be healthy or they're just shooting darts in the dark.
Sure, he ran a 4.36-second 40-yard dash and is physical, but he lacks a lot in the route-running and separation-creating department. Also, with guys like Denzel Boston, Germie Bernard, and Chris Brazzell still on the board, he wasn't even the best prospect available.
The Seahawks didn't find much trouble shutting down the 49ers' otherwise-solid offense last season. They held them to 9 total points in the final two games, and they held Brock Purdy to just 128 passing yards in their final meeting, so it makes sense that they're trying to give him more weapons.
Then again, they missed a chance to get a difference-maker and someone who could make an impact right out of the gate on Day 1, just to take an unpolished, blocking wide receiver who was projected to go much later the next day. Petty as it might be, that's just a victory cigar for the Seahawks on its own.
The 49ers still have some other selections, but now that the top defensive and offensive linemen are off the board, it's hard to believe they're going to do something that moves the needle that much. They had an opportunity to adjust and react and figure out a way to neutralize the Super Bowl champions -- who also happen to be in their division -- and they just dropped the ball.
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