De'Zhaun Stribling's NFL Combine performance 'opened everyone's eyes' to the Ole Miss WR

De’Zhaun Stribling garnered attention during his one season at Ole Miss but his time in the 40-yard dash at last month’s NFL Scouting Combine changed even more.

An official time of 4.36 seconds was the seventh-best time among wide receivers in Indianapolis and Stribling was ten one-hundredths of a second behind Mississippi State’s Brenen Thompson‘s time of 4.26 that paced the position group.

Everyone in Oxford was aware of the speed Stribling possessed but those four-plus seconds inside Lucas Oil Stadium created an opportunity to show NFL coaches, scouts and executives what he can provide their respective teams.

“I guess is it just kind of opened everyone’s eyes to my speed,” Stribling said on Wednesday. “Personally, I always knew I was that fast. So it was just about going out there and running a great time and showing everybody. Glad I was able to showcase my speed on a high level.”

Interest immediately picked up for him after the run at the Combine.

Stribling was back in Oxford for the Ole Miss Pro Day on Wednesday. The only drills he participated in were the shuttle (4.37 seconds) and three-cone (6.99 seconds). In Indianapolis last month Stribling did the vertical jump (36 inches), broad jump (10 feet, seven inches).

Inside the Manning Center Stribling also ran routes, catching passes from returning Ole Miss quarterback Walker Howard.

“I think it was great. Clean routes,” Stribling said. “Showed my speed. Showed my in-and-out of the cuts being very, very fast and very fluid.”

Stribling said he has had contact with “almost everybody” when it comes to teams showing interest with Zoom calls and other meetings taking place.

Mock drafts that have been done over the last couple months have Stribling going as high as the third round to the Pittsburgh Steelers and as low as the seventh round to the Cincinnati Bengals. Other teams projected to take him in mock drafts have been the New York Giants, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets, Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns.

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Stribling finished as the second-leading receiver for Ole Miss in 2025.

The Oklahoma State transfer spent one season with the Rebels, finishing with 55 catches for 811 yards and six touchdowns. Only Harrison Wallace III had better numbers this past season.

Having the opportunity to compete in the Southeastern Conference elevated Stribling’s game.

“I played at a high level, playing in the SEC, playing in this offense, be able to showcase all my abilities as a receiver and then even towards the end of the year being more of the go-to guy,” Stribling said. “Being in different spots with the offense and then having great runs in the playoffs really helped a lot.”

After Ole Miss was eliminated by Miami in the College Football Playoff semifinals Stribling went straight to NFL Draft prep, traveling to Los Gatos, California to do his training.