When Mike Evans was sorting through free agency calls this offseason, George Kittle kept pushing the San Francisco 49ers on him – the culture, the travel, the locker room – until Evans ultimately chose Santa Clara over a richer offer to stay in Tampa Bay. Since he arrived, Kittle and everyone else have been piling on evidence that the 6x Pro Bowler already looks like the veteran target this offense has been missing.

“Well, we had a red zone period yesterday, and I’m pretty sure he had five touchdowns. So, that’s a highlight,” Kittle said on the New Heights podcast. “One thing I was talking to [Brock] Purdy a couple of days ago was that this is our first veteran wide receiver since we had Emanuel Sanders in 2019. Like, I had Deebo [Samuel] and [Brandon] Aiyuk, but they were both like years one through four.

“Mike Evans is a guy, just watching him and his savviness. He had a concept, like he covers you in the red zone, one guy has a corner, and the other guy has the now right underneath it, and the way he sets it up versus the guy with outside leverage. The way he sets it up and just gets wide open, and I’m just like, ‘So, so fun to watch.’ Just so savvy. Catches everything, runs great routes, gives great effort. I’m all in on Mike Evans.”

Mike comes to the Niners with 12 seasons under his belt, 866 career receptions, 13,052 receiving yards, 108 touchdowns, and 11 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to start his career – tying Jerry Rice’s record. That kind of production comes from beating coverage in tight spaces over and over again.

Deebo Samuel was largely attributed to elite athleticism and the ability to fight for yards after the catch. Brandon Aiyuk – when he still liked San Francisco – made plays in clutch moments that kept drives alive and the offense on the field. Deebo got traded last season, and Aiyuk’s stuck in a standoff where the only possible end could be the Niners cutting him. Against that backdrop, Evans is a future Hall of Famer who already knows how to make the offense click.

George Kittle isn’t the only one enamored with Mike Evans, though. Star fullback Kyle Juszczyk has recently called Evans “unguardable,” noting Evans’ prowess in the red zone. RB Christian McCaffrey, meanwhile, has called him “one of the best go-ball runners in the history of the NFL.” These are the internal scouting reports: size, ball skills, and veteran detail that everyone on the roster already trusts.

Schematically, Evans gives quarterback Brock Purdy a big-bodied target who wins one-on-ones and handles the little stuff – the leverage throws, the tight red zone windows – while defenses are already tilted towards McCaffrey and Kittle. Layer Brandon Aiyuk’s ongoing standoff and Reserve/DNR list designation, and Evans becomes even more important.

George Kittle is “all-in” on Mike Evans. For a team that spent years saying it needed veteran depth at wideout, the Niners have finally gotten the exact answer they’ve been waiting for.