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In the Week 1 game against the Los Angeles Rams, the San Francisco 49ers will debut a new wide receiver in Mike Evans and will be seeing the return of an old friend in another wide receiver, Deebo Samuel. Evans was one of the big-ticket acquisitions for the 49ers in free agency this offseason, and Samuel was brought back following the season-ending injury to Ricky Pearsall. Now, the Niners are hoping that these two, along with fellow wideout De’Zhaun Stribling and veteran tight end George Kittle can take San Francisco’s passing attack to new heights. With the Niners’ season-opener almost here, let’s take a look at some fantasy football start or sit advice for both Evans and Samuel. MORE: Start or sit advice for Brock Purdy, George Kittle, De’Zhaun Stribling Deebo Samuel start or sit advice Here we go again. Samuel is back with the 49ers after a season with the Washington Commanders and he stands to play at least a fairly sizeable role in the passing attack. How big that role is remains to be seen, though, as the Niners also have George Kittle, Mike Evans and De’Zhaun Stribling. Samuel ranked as WR25 overall last season, and that was despite not having Jayden Daniels for a huge chunk of the campaign and the veteran wideout missing one game. MORE: Josh Downs & 6 more fantasy football WR sleepers for 2026 But Samuel was also the top dog in a passing attack that had very few options and didn’t have Terry McLaurin for seven games. In his two full seasons catching passes from Brock Purdy in 2023 and 2024, Samuel ranked as WR13 and WR51, respectively, in fantasy points per game. Our concerns with Samuel are three-fold: Purdy doesn’t have a great history against the Rams (213.3/1.0/0.3 career average stat line), who now sport an even better defense, there are three other legitimate mouths to feed in the passing attack and we’re not sure Samuel has much left in the tank. We’d keep Samuel on the bench for now to see how things play out. Verdict: Sit Mike Evans start or sit advice If you’re starting Evans this week, it’s out of respect for what he has shown he can do during his illustrious football career. The reality is Evans is 33 years old and is coming off an injury-plagued season that saw him average 46 yards per contest en route to ranking as WR42 in fantasy points per game. All the same concerns we listed for Samuel apply to Evans: Purdy’s poor past against an improved Rams defense, the uncertainty in the pecking order and the fear of decline. MORE: Fantasy football Week 1 running back rankings We understand if you want to roll with the future Hall of Famer in Week 1 because of everything he has meant to fantasy owners over the years. But we would try to deploy someone with a better matchup and a more certain situation. Verdict: Sit — Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories with The Big Lead Newsletter —