Fantasy Football Week 1 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Mike Evans vs. Davante Adams

Thursday night football is finally back, with a matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams. Two NFL Hall of Fame bound WRs, Mike Evans and Davante Adams, will be a couple of the key players featured in the game. With that, here is a breakdown of which veteran WR will have a better night in fantasy football in Week 1.

Mike Evans

In his first game as a 49er, Evans will take on what looks to be one of the best secondaries in the NFL. In 2025, the Rams were a below-average pass defense. They allowed the 11th most passing yards per game in the NFL, 225.6, and they allowed the 10th most PPR fantasy points to WRs.

They addressed these defensive woes partially by adding two-time All-Pro CB Trent McDuffie. Evans should be matched up with him for the majority of the night. McDuffie in 2025 had the 13th-best PFF grade out of 114 CBs, with a 75.6.

There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding how Evans will look in 2026. In 2025, he had the worst statistical year of his career: 368 receiving yards and three TDs. That production was tied heavily to him playing a career-low eight games.

However, fantasy managers should be optimistic about Evans being an under-the-radar fantasy standout. He retained the role of WR1 and still had flashes of being an elite WR last season. In a game against the Atlanta Falcons, he had six receptions for 132 yards on 12 targets. The Falcons were one of the better passing defenses that season, allowing the 11th fewest passing yards per game, 200.4.

Evans has had some injury concerns already this offseason, but he holds no injury designation going into San Francisco’s matchup against the Rams.

Davante Adams

Adams had another successful season in fantasy football in 2025, finishing as WR9 in PPR formats. The 49ers look like a pretty ideal opponent for him to start off another good fantasy season against.

San Francisco in 2025 allowed the 12th most passing yards per game, 222.3. They also allowed the 13th most fantasy points to WRs per game.

One statistical category that carried Adams to a high-level fantasy season was TDs. He had the most TDs out of any WR in the NFL with 14. The 49ers last season were a below-average team in preventing passing TDs, allowing 1.6 TD passes per game, which was tied for the 12th-highest average in the league.

Adams played the 49ers twice in 2025 and fared well. In one game, he had five receptions for 88 yards on 11 targets, and in the other game he had six receptions for 77 yards and a TD on eight targets.

Final Verdict

When it comes to who should start and who should sit between Adams and Evans in Week 1 in fantasy football, Adams should start, and Evans should sit.

With Adams coming into the matchup with success against the 49ers in each of his outings against them in 2025, and Evans coming into the matchup with some question marks from his down season in 2025 against what should be one of the better passing defenses in the NFL in 2026, Adams is the clear better play in fantasy lineups between the two this week.

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