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
Wednesday, August 26, 4:00 PM
San Francisco 49ers veteran wide receiver Mike Evans (groin) plans to play in Week 1 in Australia against the division-rival Los Angeles Rams despite dealing with injuries in training camp this summer, a source told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. Evans' latest injury, a groin ailment, is considered to be minor, barring a setback. The future Hall of Fame wideout has also been held out of practices with quadriceps and calf injuries, although the Niners have mostly been cautious with their WR1. The 49ers have every reason to be extra cautious when considering their bad injury luck in recent seasons, let alone with an aging 33-year-old receiver who is no stranger to nagging lower-body injuries. The six-time Pro Bowler broke a string of 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons in 2025 in his final campaign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, playing in only eight games due to injuries while catching 30 passes for 368 yards and three touchdowns on 62 targets. A bounce-back could be coming in head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense in 2026, but durability concerns alone make Evans a pretty big risk. His ideal value now comes as a low-end WR2/high-end WR3/flex in fantasy football drafts.
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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