Ole Miss Rebels wide receiver Deshaun Stribling during game with the Florida Gators
Ole Miss Rebels wide receiver Deshaun Stribling during game with the Florida Gators at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss. | Ole Miss Athletics

Where Ole Miss Football Players Landed After the NFL Draft

BY Taylor Hodges

The dust of the NFL Draft has settled. All the picks have been made and the wave of undrafted free agent signings has passed.

In all, eight Rebels have joined NFL teams in the last four days.

Wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling was the highest drafted Ole Miss player, going with the first pick of the second round to San Francisco. He was the rafted wide receiver at Ole Miss since Laquon Treadwell went 23rd overall to the Minnesota Vikings in 2016.

“We’ve got a guy that plays our brand of football. He’s a very skilled young man,” 49ers’ President of Football Operations and General Manager John Lynch said in a released statement. “We’ve got a thing called Gold Helmet, which is kind of the highest standard that a 49ers draft choice can get. I think we gave out 16 this year, and he was one of those. That means that he represents everything that you want to be on the field and off the field. We just felt like, at the end of the day, this is a guy that just gained a lot of steam throughout the process. Couldn’t be happier to have him with our program.”

Offensive lineman Jayden Williams was the only other Rebel to be drafted. He was the first pick of the seventh and final round, going to the Arizona Cardinals. Williams is the first Ole Miss offensive lineman taken in the NFL Draft since 2023, when Nick Broeker went to the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round

“He’s played mainly right tackle, but has also seen quite a few snaps at left tackle in his career,” Cardinals’ General Manager Monti Ossenfort said. “Another guy that has played against good competition in the SEC, but also he’s probably blocked as good of guys in practice with the defensive line they had coming out of there last year. He’s [seen] good competition there throughout his whole career.”

In Arizona, Williams will join former teammate and 2025 first round selection Walter Nolen, as well as UDFA rookies Harrison Wallace III and Wydett Williams Jr.

Ole Miss Rebels in the 2026 NFL Draft

  • Round 2, Pick 33 – De’Zhaun Stribling, WR, San Francisco 49ers
  • Round 7, Pick 217 – Jayden Williams, OT, Arizona Cardinals

Undrafted Free Agent Signings

  • Tahj Chambers, LB – Indianapolis Colts
  • Kapena Gushiken, DB – Philadelphia Eagles
  • Diego Pounds, OL – Baltimore Ravens
  • Harrison Wallace III, WR – Arizona Cardinals
  • Wydett Williams Jr., DB – Arizona Cardinals
  • Dae’Quan Wright, TE – Philadelphia Eagles

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