The potential future Hall of Famer with 11 1,000-yard seasons to his name has a new home: Mike Evans has signed a three-year, $60.4-million contract with the 49ers. The deal separates Evans from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the first time in his life; he leaves as the franchise's all-time leader in virtually every receiving statistic, including receptions (866), receiving yards (13,052) and receiving touchdowns (108).

49ers Sign Mike Evans - Fantasy Football Fallout

Of course, Evans (33 in August) didn't quite resemble the same beast we've grown used to seeing in 2025. The drop-off in efficiency certainly was impacted by a September hamstring injury, as well as a broken collarbone in October, but yeah: Those silly analytics say Evans was one of the league's least-efficient WRs with his opportunities last season.

The most concerning part might be Evans' newfound inability to separate. Obviously, the gargantuan 6-foot-5, 231-pound receiver is always capable of turning 50/50 contested catches into 70/30 propositions in his favor, but ESPN's Open Rating (meant to help quantify separation ability) paints a pretty concerning picture here.

Evans rank in ESPN's Open Rating:

• 2023: 77 (12th)
• 2024: 91 (tied for 1st)
• 2025: 46 (tied for 79th)

Now, as Emeka Egbuka's annoyed fantasy managers know, we also didn't exactly get the best version of Baker Mayfield in 2025. Pro Football Reference ranked Mayfield as just the QB27 in terms of on-target pass percentage, a far cry from his 10th-place finish in 2024. Throw in more target competition than ever in this crowded WR room, and there are more than a few variables that help explain Evans' down 2025 campaign.

Fantasy Football Rankings Updates For Mike Evans, Ricky Pearsall, Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin and More

So let's say that Evans remains quite good at football in the year 2026. What does that mean for his fantasy value with San Fran?

• We couldn't ask for a better QB/play-calling pairing. After all, Brock Purdy ranks first IN THE SUPER BOWL ERA in yards per attempt (8.6), passer rating (104) and passing success rate (52.4%).
• There's quite a bit of available volume here. Sure, Ricky Pearsall will be plenty involved, but there could be a LOT of targets going Evans' way should the team move on from Jauan Jennings and Brandon Aiyuk. TE George Kittle (Achilles) is also a candidate to miss some early-season action.

The biggest concern? Age. Evans will be 33 in August, and we simply haven't seen many wide receivers return elite fantasy production at this point in their career.

Even then, Evans profiles as a similar upside WR2 as what Davante Adams was for the Rams last season. In fact, it'd make a lot of sense if Evans winds up carrying an ADP in the same tier as Adams (currently the WR21 over at Underdog Fantasy). This feels like a good spot to rank him: Not quite ahead of young studs like Jameson Williams, Zay Flowers and DeVonta Smith, but ahead of fellow veterans in less ideal offenses like Terry McLaurin and Jaylen Waddle. Unfortunately, his presence will result in a bump down the ranks for Pearsall, who now profiles as more of a borderline WR3 as the likely No. 2 WR in his own offense.

And then there's the impact of Evans' departure in Tampa Bay, which suddenly condenses a WR room that was previously a four-man show.

Rising second-year WR Emeka Egbuka should now see more of a true full-time role than what was on his plate towards the end of last season. While the dropoff in production from the first half to the second half of the season was concerning, Egbuka was playing through a hamstring injury, and Mayfield's aforementioned inaccuracy didn't help matters. Ultimately, Egbuka proved capable of putting up BIG numbers to start his career and continues to possess the sort of high-end talent that made him a first-round pick in the first place. Now equipped with a clean path to 120-plus targets, Egbuka profiles as a low-end WR2 worth betting on in the same tier as guys like DeVonta Smith, Zay Flowers, Luther Burden and Jaylen Waddle.

Longtime stud Chris Godwin should also benefit quite nicely from Evans' departure. 2026 will feature Godwin with an extra year removed from his devastating dislocated ankle, so it'd make sense if his efficiency is a bit closer to what we saw in 2024 (9.3 yards per target) vs. 2025 (7.1). Of course, Godwin did turn 30 in February, and this is around the point when we start seeing a decrease in top-performing fantasy players at the position. Godwin feels like a high-floor WR4 bet alongside guys like Wan'Dale Robinson, Khalil Shakir, and Jakobi Meyers.

Finally, Jalen McMillan is perhaps the biggest winner of Evans' departure … for now. Reminder: There's still plenty of time left in free agency and the draft for Tampa Bay to make additional moves here. Either way: Credit to McMillan for scoring eight touchdowns in 13 games as a rookie before averaging a ludicrous 11.9 yards per target on his limited opportunities late in 2025 once he returned from a preseason neck injury. We saw McMillan render Egbuka as a part-time player down the stretch—the rising third-year receiver profiles as a late-round dart worth throwing thanks to the likelihood that the difference in his ADP relative to his teammates will be far wider than the actual delta between their projected targets.

Best of luck to Evans with his new squad and to the Buccaneers pass-catchers with their newfound opportunity!

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