Mike Evans vs Luther Burden

“Mike Evans is now in San Francisco, which is important because when Evans wasn’t on the field last season, Egbuka’s target share was 28%”

“Yet, Samuel could be Brock Purdy’s top wide receiver at some point this year given Mike Evans ‘ recent injury history”

“A fully healthy Mike Evans in this Kyle Shanahan system is a lock for 70+ receptions, 1,000+ yards ( obviously ), and 8+ TDs…that baseline would have been enough to finish as the overall WR11 in 0.5 PPR scoring in 2025, and is the exact reason The Path to a WR1 Season for Mike Evans is paved with gold.”

“Big Mike joins an offense with arguably the best overall RB, TE, and head coach in the entire league, and although this sounds like a recipe for disaster for a veteran recovering from a season plagued by injury, I tend to look at his move west in a similar light to all those optimistic prospectors from the mid-1800s…becuase let me tell you, Mike Evans on this 49ers team is going to be fantasy gold .”

“Mike Evans has a new home with the 49ers, and he looks like a wonderful value in fantasy drafts.”

“49ers FB Kyle Juszczyk had high hopes for new WR Mike Evans , but he was still surprised by the veteran’s ability to completely dominate practice, especially during red-zone periods. “The expectations we had for Mike were already high … he’s a Hall of Famer … and he blew us all away,” Juszczyk said, via Vic Tafur of The Athletic . “He was unguardable in practice, especially in the red zone. And he fits in so well.””

“Evans is almost 33 years old with an accumulation of injuries over 12 years. We are dangerously close to the performance cliff here, so it is perilous to assume that he will just absorb most of the 168-target vacancy.”

“Watch this space with the arrival of Mike Evans in San Francisco. Evans has been an integral part of one of the most efficient offenses in this category during his time down in Tampa Bay, and it will be interesting to see if that advantage translates to the same extent in Kyle Shanahan's system.”

“The offense will also no longer have Mike Evans after he departed in free agency for the 49ers.”

“The concerns revolve around durability and age. At 33 years old, Evans enters a completely new offensive environment while carrying a long history of hamstring issues. Erickson suggested fantasy managers may eventually want to capitalize on a fast start by trading him before those risks become more significant later in the season.”

“Evans joins an offense led by Brock Purdy after building a career around scoring touchdowns and producing 1,000-yard seasons. Erickson believes that touchdown upside remains very real, making Evans capable of delivering week-winning fantasy performances.”

“Investing in Evans can be risky, but we know he's got talent, is in a good situation, and is paired with a solid quarterback. This could be shaping up to be 2025 Davante Adams, which was a smash value in drafts.”

“08) – Luther Burden (WR, CHI) For the first and only time in this mock draft, Round 5 saw all three Ballers take a player at the same position.”

“Luther Burden III (WR – CHI) | ECR: WR24/ADP: 49 Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of optimism surrounding Luther Burden III and this entire Bears offense.”

“Like most fantasy football enthusiasts, count me among the stans. I am a fan of Burden’s game. I think he is great, but the LTV absolutely loves Burden.”

“Burden averaged 13.9 YPC, which is high when considering his low aDOT. That's attributable to the fact that Burden was a YAC machine in 2025, averaging 7.1 YAC per reception, which ranked 3rd in the NFL among WRs.”

“Burden finished 2025 with a paltry 12.8% target share on the season. This number obviously grew throughout the season, as his snap share increased, but that's still an uninspiring number. Better, though, were his Team Reception % (16%), Team Receiving Yards % (19%), and team WR Points % (26.9%), which shows how efficient Burden was when targeted.”

“From Weeks 10-18, Burden posted a WR5 overall finish with 2.67 YPRR. Burden was highly efficient on a per-route basis, and extrapolating that efficiency across a 17-game season in a full-time role would lock him into a top-12 finish at his position.”

“Rookie WR Luther Burden III started off slow but stepped up when it counted – in the playoffs. He was incredibly efficient with the ball, averaging 2.69 yards per route run, but he only earned a 13% target share on the season.”

“With D.J. Moore now in Buffalo, the table is set for Burden to take on a much larger role. If he builds on a rookie season in which he ranked third in yards per route run (2.79), Burden's value will shoot up higher than a reloadable mortar.”

“Burden lit up the 49ers in Week 17, racking up eight receptions for 138 yards and a touchdown. Those numbers made him the overall WR1 during fantasy championship week.”

“Luther Burden's numbers look incredible but he ran such a low percentage of the team's routes (RT %) that a 2026 leap needs to be contextualized with a new role in the Chicago offense.”

“Burden's Mid-Round 4 ADP is objectively one of the slappiest ADPs in the history of Best Ball. We're talking about a player with 652 career receiving yards being drafted ahead of the likes of Mike Evans and Davante Adams — not to mention two more established pass catchers on his own team. The conviction behind Burden despite stiff competition is driven by a strong college production profile and an elite year 1 YPRR in a part-time role.”

“He averaged fewer PPR fantasy points per game than Theo Wease Jr. last season (8.6 vs. 8.5). Burden scored 12.2 fantasy points on 14 targets during Chicago's two playoff games.”