Mike Evans saw his remarkable 1,000-yard streak end last season, and the reasons went beyond simple bad luck. He now changes teams for the first time in his career at an age where that rarely goes well. The San Francisco situation offers a genuine counterargument worth taking seriously. Fantasy managers have to weigh a legendary résumé against a mountain of red flags.
Should I Draft Mike Evans in Fantasy Football?
Let me be clear about where I stand. I do not want Evans this season.
The streak ending was largely about injuries, but the games he did play revealed something more troubling. Evans averaged just 10.6 fantasy points per game with obvious signs of decline throughout. His 1.62 yards per route run was a career low, and his 6.0 yards per target was equally grim. Baker Mayfield deserves some blame, though a 48.4% catch rate is awfully hard to sugarcoat. He also found the end zone only three times on 61 targets.
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The availability issue is the part that worries me most. Evans had nine DNPs last season and has now missed multiple games in three of the past four years. He has always dealt with nagging injuries throughout his career, and for a long time he simply played through them.
That pattern reminds me a great deal of Julio Jones. Once Jones hit 31, he could no longer push through the same ailments he had shrugged off for years. His body betrayed him before his talent did. The talent then followed at 32. Evans looks like he is walking that same road.
Now stack the rest of it. Evans is 33 years old, which is the age where most receivers are deeply into decline. He is switching teams, which historically goes poorly for aging receivers already showing cracks. He is coming off the worst season of his career. He has dealt with hamstring strains in back-to-back years. And he is joining one of the lowest-volume passing attacks in football, as Brock Purdy has averaged 3.4 fewer pass attempts per game than Mayfield over the past three seasons.
The historical data is brutal. Since 2000, there have been 27 seasons in which a receiver aged 33 or older averaged at least 16 PPG. Narrow that to 2011 and later and the number collapses to seven. The entire list is Reggie Wayne, Steve Smith, Larry Fitzgerald, and Julian Edelman. That is the club Evans would need to join.
I do see the counterpoint, and it is not nothing. He is Mike Evans. Last season can be pinned on Mayfield and the injuries. Purdy is a better quarterback, and it is genuinely difficult to quantify how much sharper Kyle Shanahan’s offense is than what Todd Bowles was running. Evans still carries 14-touchdown upside. The San Francisco pass-catching room is also wide open, with Christian McCaffrey at 30, George Kittle at 33 coming off a torn Achilles, Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings gone, and Ricky Pearsall done for the season. The upside case is real.
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I will also admit my general instinct to fade aging receivers who change teams has burned me before. I was in on Davante Adams last season and that worked out.
Evans is my WR30 against a WR28 ADP. I can see a world where he becomes 2025 Davante Adams lite and finishes around WR15. I can just as easily see him falling off a cliff and landing as a WR4. Given everything above, I am not the one finding out.
Katz’s WR Fantasy Rankings 2026
- Ja’Marr Chase | CIN
- Puka Nacua | LAR
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA
- Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET
- CeeDee Lamb | DAL
- Justin Jefferson | MIN
- Drake London | ATL
- Malik Nabers | NYG
- Nico Collins | HOU
- A.J. Brown | NE
- Chris Olave | NO
- George Pickens | DAL
- DeVonta Smith | PHI
- Zay Flowers | BAL
- Rashee Rice | KC
- Jaylen Waddle | DEN
- Tee Higgins | CIN
- Terry McLaurin | WAS
- Ladd McConkey | LAC
- Emeka Egbuka | TB
- Luther Burden III | CHI
- Tetairoa McMillan | CAR
- Garrett Wilson | NYJ
- Parker Washington | JAX
- Jameson Williams | DET
- Christian Watson | GB
- Rome Odunze | CHI
- Carnell Tate | TEN
- Davante Adams | LAR
- Mike Evans | SF
- Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI
- DJ Moore | BUF
- Brian Thomas Jr. | JAX
- Chris Godwin Jr. | TB
- Stefon Diggs | WAS
- Michael Pittman Jr. | PIT
- Josh Downs | IND
- Wan’Dale Robinson | TEN
- Quentin Johnston | LAC
- Jayden Reed | GB
- DK Metcalf | PIT
- Jordan Addison | MIN
- Courtland Sutton | DEN
- Jakobi Meyers | JAX
- Makai Lemon | PHI
- Xavier Worthy | KC
- Michael Wilson | ARI
- KC Concepcion | CLE
- Romeo Doubs | NE
- Jalen Coker | CAR
