Fantasy Football Owners Lick Their Chops at Mike Evans' 49ers Signing

Mike Evans joins the 49ers on a three-year deal, thus providing a great outlook for his 2026 fantasy football output.

Dec 11, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) warms up before the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The San Francisco 49ers have signed Mike Evans to a 3-year contract. The 49ers add the big-bodied wide receiver to be the prime WR1 in this offense, thus demoting Ricky Pearsall. This is much needed, as Jauan Jennings will be gone, and Brandon Aiyuk will almost certainly never play for the team again. As we discuss fantasy football, we will provide you with what to expect in the 2026 season.

Fantasy Football Impact

The current 49ers depth chart will be:

• WR1: Mike Evans
• WR2: Ricky Pearsall
• WR3: TBD

The 49ers run a balanced offense. Christian McCaffrey is their primary option, with strong pass-catching ability. Brock Purdy will throw the ball well over 30 times per game. So, what will the target shares look like? This is a broad estimate.

• 25-30%: Mike Evans
• 20-25%: Ricky Pearsall
• 20-25%: George Kittle
• 15-20%: Christian McCaffrey

The remainder of this offense looks very thin at the moment. There is no clear option at WR3, and the team may not need to find one. This is one of the better top-4 options that you will find in the NFL. The 49ers were the NFL's No. 1 offense by FPI in 2025. They now get only better, despite losing Jennings and Kendrick Bourne.

There is no doubt that Evans will be a prime red zone target, once again. We can expect his overall 25-30% target share to be about the same in the red zone, if not higher. He will be a fantasy football WR1.

In Tampa Bay, things shake up making Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin co-WR1's. It will be for the taking as to who wants to earn the highest target share in 2026. Beyond them, Jalen McMillan and Tez Johnson will be viable sleepers in fantasy football. This offense should remain very great even without Evans any longer being a part.

Mike Evans Signs 3-Year Contract with 49ers

It was reported that Evans would not be returning to the Buccaneers after 12 years with the franchise. This was reality today as Evans signed a 3-year, $60.4 million deal to go to the 49ers. They immediately get even better on offense and will be arguably the No. 1 NFL offense entering 2026. For sure, this team has Super Bowl aspirations.

The 49ers have made it clear that both Jauan Jennings and Brandon Aiyuk will not be with this team in 2026. That proves even more true with the Evans signing. It will be Evans and Pearsall catching the majority of wide receiver targets.