Who Should I Start? Mike Evans or Josh Downs

Saturday, May 30, 8:59 AM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Mike Evans will be 33 to begin the 2026 season and is coming off a disappointing injury-tarnished year in which he failed to reach 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his career. Starting fresh with a new team for the first time since the Buccaneers made him the seventh overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, he has fallen all the way to WR40 in RotoBaller's latest dynasty rankings, making him a strong bounce-back candidate and a lower-cost trade target for contending managers. Evans has been one of the league's most efficient pass-catchers with two or fewer receivers on the field, and in moving from one of the league's heaviest rates of 11 personnel to a Niners team that ran the highest percentage of plays with a fullback on the field, those opportunities should only increase. A growing history of soft tissue injuries should not be ignored, but if Evans can stay healthy in 2026, he's capable of returning immediate value as a short-term dynasty buy.