Who Should I Start? Mike Evans or Deebo Samuel Sr.
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.8 | 53.6 | 0.4 |
Mike Evans News
Monday, August 31, 6:32 AM
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Mike Evans (groin) could ultimately prove to be the biggest boom-or-bust pick in 2026 drafts. Already struggling through availability concerns before a game has even been played, the six-time Pro Bowler is 33 years old and has missed 12 games over the past two seasons. When on the field, however, he remains a dominator, particularly in the way it's easy to envision him being used by the 49ers. Operating with a fullback on the field more than any other team over the past two seasons, two-receiver sets have become a staple of Kyle Shanahan's offense, and since 2022, Evans has earned 2.97 yards per route run with fewer than three receivers on the field, a number that would have ranked third in the league among qualified receivers last year. Evans also remains a significant scoring threat for an offense that made the eighth most red zone trips in the league in 2025. Despite true WR1 upside, Evans' warranted health concerns have pushed him to WR28 by current ADP, putting him into a range of the draft that makes it slightly easier to overlook his obvious red flags, as when healthy he should help decide matchups.
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Deebo Samuel Sr. News
Friday, August 28, 6:38 PM
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. has returned to the Bay Area for his age-30 season, and he should play a key role in his first year back on the West Coast. Samuel spent six seasons with the Niners before landing with the Commanders last year. It wasn't a very flashy season for Samuel in the DMV, but he still managed to finish as the WR25 in PPR leagues with 72 catches, 727 receiving yards, and five receiving touchdowns. He should get a quarterback upgrade now that he's back in San Francisco, as Brock Purdy offers more reliable quarterback play than last year's combo of Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota. He will face a little more competition for volume, though. Not only will Mike Evans be ahead of him in the receiver room, but George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey should also fetch a ton of targets. With that being said, Evans, Kittle, and McCaffrey have all dealt with several injury issues in years past, so there's a path to Samuel taking on a bigger role if some of his teammates get hurt. All in all, we're not sure Samuel will replicate last year's WR25 finish, but he's still a strong top-36 receiver with weekly value as a WR3/flex. With that in mind, he's somewhat of a steal at his current ADP of 136.0, which makes him the 55th receiver off the board in fantasy drafts.
Mike Evans vs. Deebo Samuel Sr.
Still trying to decide between Evans and Samuel Sr.? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Mike Evans is projected to score 11.6 points this week while Deebo Samuel Sr. is projected to score 0.0 points.
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