Mac Jones has a nickname for 49ers’ rookie De’Zhaun Stribling
· Yahoo Sports
The San Francisco 49ers got rookie De’Zhaun Stribling back at practice. The receiver has been out as the team managed Stribling’s hamstring tightness a week ago.
Backup quarterback Mac Jones was asked what Stribling brings to the table that wasn’t in the receiver room last year. From there, Jones said what he calls Stribling:
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Definitely. Yeah, I call him the Flyin’ Hawaiian because he’s so fast. But he definitely is fast, but some guys, they can be really quick, but they’re not as strong, so he has both. I don’t have a comp for him yet, but I think he’ll be a really good player.
The 49ers will need Stribling to live up to his draft status after the Ricky Pearsall news. We’re hearing about players like Demarcus Robinson and Junior Bergen flash at the position. Things might be different this year for Robinson with a player like Mike Evans on the roster, but we’re also talking about a 10-year veteran and a 7th-round second-year pro.
Jones has more to say about Stribling:
“And I don’t know, just the way he got to the ball when it’s in the air was impressive. He has like a second gear when the ball’s in the air. Some guys are really fast, but when the ball goes up and your eyes go up, you slow down, but he doesn’t do that, so it’s pretty impressive. So, you want to have guys like that, and speed is good, but you want ball speed where the ball’s in the air that you don’t slow down. So he has that.”
Jones also mentioned Evans and Jordan Watkins as players who can do that. Watkins will need to improve on his consistency catching the ball. Not only outright catching the ball, but also not letting it get into his shoulder pads. Keep an eye out for that during the preseason.
Jones spoke about Watkins in-depth:
“Yeah, I really like Jordan. He’s one of my good buddies on the team, and he’s always got a good attitude. He just goes out there and runs fast. With us, we’re very similar because we’re hard on ourselves. So, like, if he has a bad play, I always try to, like, go up to him and be like, ‘Hey, play the next play. It’s all good.’
Similar with me, if I have a bad play, I want him to do the same, and we kind of have that relationship. So, for him, it’s just playing that next play as best he can, and he’s done a better job of that this training camp, and he’s really fast and has a lot of talent and has played in a lot of big-time football in college, so, you know that he has what it takes to be really good.”
Watkins is the kind of player who can raise the ceiling of the offense if he can string it all together. The athleticism is there. Now it’s about whether he can get used to the physicality of the NFL and everything that comes with the down-to-down duties of a receiver.
Jones has noticed some of the younger wideouts stepping up and making plays. He name-dropped Bergen, specifically knowing what to do while playing fast. It’s one thing to run fast on a stopwatch. It’s another to play fast as you’re processing what the defense is doing. Bergen looks to slide into the role of Jacob Cowing, whose time is likely up after suffering a hip flexor.
There are plenty of battles that will play out in August. Players like Malik Turner get another life with other players sitting out. Will they take advantage of their opportunities?