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Why Mike Evans is most important playmaker for 49ers' offense
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- Why Mike Evans is most important playmaker for 49ers' offense
Why Mike Evans is most important playmaker for 49ers' offense originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The San Francisco 49ers made some massive changes to their offense this offseason, as pretty much their entire wide receiver room is different from what it was a year ago.
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Ricky Pearsall is out for the season, Brandon Aiyuk is away from the team, and both Jauan Jennings and Kendrick Bourne signed free-agent deals with new teams this offseason.
They brought in Deebo Samuel, De'Zhuan Stribling, and Mike Evans to replace them. Of those three, ESPN's Ben Solak named Evans as the 49ers' "X-Factor" this upcoming season, as his production could determine how good the 49ers are this season.
Mike Evans could decide how far 49ers go on offense
"But if Evans cannot stay on the field or is absent of twitch when he's on it, there's not enough downfield playmaking in the group (unless Stribling is the Offensive Rookie of the Year)," Solak writes. "The floor for any Shanahan-led offense is very high, but the ceiling this year is set by Evans."
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It's going to be very hard for the 49ers offense to be bad this upcoming season. Kyle Shanahan, Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, and a decent group of receivers should make for a good offense. Plus, the offensive line isn't bad.
But as Solak highlighted, how good this offense can actually be will be decided by whether Evans is playing at a high level or not. If he plays as he did in 2025, then the 49ers offense is more likely to be underwhelming.
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If he were to play at a high level, the 49ers could be one of the top offenses in the NFL, and Evans could get back to having 1,000-yard seasons, like he did through the first 11 years of his NFL career.
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The big issue, however, is that Evans is currently banged up a bit. He has had quad and groin issues this summer, and while he could still play in Week 1, there is some injury concern for the now 33-year-old veteran heading into his 13th season.
San Francisco should be able to field a solid offense this upcoming season, but how good Evans is, and how healthy he is, could be the difference between this 49ers offense being elite or not.
