De’Zhaun Stribling’s OROY Odds Shorten After Ricky Pearsall Injury

• De’Zhaun Stribling’s Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have shortened since the Ricky Pearsall injury
• The 49ers placed Pearsall on season-ending injured reserve Saturday and made the Deebo Samuel signing official
• Keep reading for the latest De’Zhaun Stribling Offensive Rookie of the Year odds and how far the number has moved

The 49ers lost Ricky Pearsall for the season on Saturday. GM John Lynch said the receiver needs surgery on the PCL in his right knee, and the recovery could take anywhere from six to 12 months.

That leaves a starting job open in one of the better receiver rooms in football, and De’Zhaun Stribling is the rookie in line to take it. He was a throwaway name in the rookie award market two weeks ago, but that’s no longer the case.

Keep reading for the latest Stribling Offensive Rookie of the Year odds and how much the Pearsall news moved them.

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds

TheScore Bet lists Stribling at +2200, or about a 4% chance to win it. Quarterbacks and running backs still own the top of the Offensive Rookie of the Year odds, where Fernando Mendoza and Jeremiyah Love sit at +400 apiece.

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Odds as of Saturday, Aug. 1 at theScore Bet. Grab the theScore Bet promo code and compare the best NFL betting apps before placing a futures bet.

It’s still a long price, but it used to be a lot longer. We track average odds across the market, and Stribling’s have been cut in half.

De’Zhaun Stribling OROY Odds Movement

He was sitting at +6000 on July 15, and he’s down to +2750 now. That more than doubles his implied chance, and nobody else on the board moved anywhere close to that far.

What the Pearsall Injury Means for Stribling’s Odds

The math is simple enough. Pearsall was penciled in as the starter across from Mike Evans, and those snaps have to go somewhere now.

Pearsall first hurt the knee in Week 4 last season and never got right, finishing with 36 catches for 528 yards and no touchdowns in 10 games. The 49ers passed on surgery in the offseason and hoped rest would fix it, but the swelling came back after three camp practices.

San Francisco already had a replacement lined up. The Deebo Samuel deal came together late in the week and became official Saturday, with Lynch saying they wanted the veteran back either way.

The easy assumption is that Samuel slides right into Pearsall’s spot. Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area sees it differently, calling the starters Evans and Stribling and saying the rookie has more upside this season.

Can De’Zhaun Stribling Win Offensive Rookie of the Year?

The camp reports explain why the number moved. San Francisco’s quarterbacks went 6-for-7 throwing his way in team drills during Friday’s first padded practice.

Brock Purdy called him a baller and raved about his route running and how fast he picked up the playbook. Evans named Stribling when asked which rookie had stood out, and that means something coming from a six-time Pro Bowler.

The 33rd overall pick out of Ole Miss had 55 catches for 811 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games last season. Plenty of fans called that selection a reach in April. Nobody inside the building is saying it now.

Rookie receivers don’t win this award often, though, and Stribling still has Samuel, Christian Kirk and Demarcus Robinson to beat out for targets. Mendoza and Love are +400 for good reason.

The situation helps him, though. He’s catching passes from Purdy on a contender in the NFL Super Bowl odds, and rookies who put up numbers on winning teams get noticed.

Stribling gets his first game action on Aug. 13 against the Titans. A couple of preseason showings like Friday’s practice and his +2200 price could shorten even further.