Mike Evans has dealt with various injuries this summer — most recently a groin injury in late August — which has dropped his ADP for season-long drafts. He currently carries a 70.5 ADP on Yahoo. However, the veteran wideout provided an encouraging update Monday, telling the media that “none of my injuries were significant” and “if it was a game week, I wouldn’t have missed any time.”
This is a sigh of relief for fantasy players who drafted Evans. With this positive update, how strong of a play is the receiver for Thursday’s season opener against the Rams?
Week 1 Fantasy Football Outlook: Mike Evans
With Evans in line for a full workload against the Rams, the receiver brings big upside regardless of the tough matchup — Los Angeles finished as PFF’s highest-graded defense last season.
This game’s 48.5-point total on DraftKings Sportsbook is tied for the second-highest total of Week 1. The 49ers should be forced into a pass-heavy attack as 3.5-point underdogs, which is great news for Evans.
With Ricky Pearsall out for the season and Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings and Kendrick Bourne all no longer with San Francisco, Evans is the clear No.1 receiver for this team. And while George Kittle is expected to play against the Rams, the 32-year-old is only eight months removed from tearing his Achilles, and he isn’t expected to see a full complement of snaps.
Christian McCaffrey remains the best touch-earner in the NFL, but Evans should be very busy in this matchup and see a high target share. While Evans averaged only 0.25 FPTS per snap and posted a career-worst 48.4% catch rate last season, he still commanded a target on an incredible 26% of his routes — including 15 red zone targets in just eight games.
Evans should see this type of usage in the season opener, and playing with Brock Purdy should be an upgrade from Baker Mayfield. Last season, Purdy ranked second in quarterback rating while Mayfield ranked 12th.
Obviously, this is just Evans and Purdy’s first game together. But this duo starting the season off on a high note is very possible, and Evans should be viewed as a top-15 receiver for Week 1.
