What the Biggest Overreaction Is to 49ers' Preseason Opener

Without question, Stribling had an impressive game. He demonstrated tough catching ability, speed, and a bit of lethal ball-carrying. That led him to tally seven catches for 63 yards in the game.

It’s fair to be encouraged and excited about it, but it can’t go beyond that. There have been delusional posts about Stribling’s performance, as if the 49ers are already validated for drafting him.

Stribling was a polarizing draft selection made by the 49ers at No. 33. They were hit with a tsunami of criticism for reaching for Stribling and not going with “consensus” experts. 

The 49ers would love to stick it to those critics, myself included. But to do a victory lap on a preseason performance is sad and laughable. There’s nothing Stribling can do in the preseason to validate his draft status.

That won’t begin to happen until the regular season. And even then, it won’t derive from a single game. The entire season will need to be taken into account. That’s the first step.

A draft pick isn’t validated until multiple seasons. It’s difficult to know after one season. In fact, it’s impossible. There have been plenty of examples of a rookie looking amazing in the first year and plummeting the next.

No one should be drawing a fraction of a conclusion about Stribling or any of the other rookies this year, let alone a preseason half. That’s just brainwashing at that point. 

Stribling performed very well. There’s a lot to be encouraged about with him, and he gave everyone a lot to look forward to in the regular season. But will he actually look like this? Will he prove his worth?

There’s no telling until games that actually matter are played.