SANTA CLARA, CA – DECEMBER 11: Mike Evans #13 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers runs off of the sector towards the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on December 11, 2022 in Santa Clara, California. (Photograph by Cooper Neill/Getty Pictures) | Getty Pictures
David Lombardi from The SF Commonplace is commonly a lightning rod in his protection of the San Francisco 49ers. His newest take is bound to stir debate between followers of the Los Angeles Rams and throughout the NFC West.
“Mike Evans will likely have a bigger positive impact on the 49ers than Myles Garrett has on the Rams”
His reasoning:
It’s easy logic. LA already had a top-8 go rush win fee late yr and wasn’t poor at DE. Jared Verse is an upper-tier participant.
In the meantime, SF was very poor at WR—notably the X, a spot that’ll Set off compounding returns in (Kyle) Shanahan’s offense.
The Rams’ go rush ought to be higher. The 49ers’ WR corps may be reworked.
All additions occur within the context of a workforce sport.
To Lombardi’s credit score, I discover him extremely entertaining. With that mentioned, he’s ever the optimist and barely critiques strikes by San Francisco’s entrance workplace. There may be loads to complain about particularly with their draft lessons during the last two years.
In my opinion, the 49ers’ signing of Evans is an try and emulate the magic LA discovered with Davante Adams final season. Adams was as computerized as they arrive in direction of the aim line and helped appropriate the Rams’ years-long purple zone woes. Evans may simply have the identical influence in San Francisco. He nonetheless brings the identical dangers to the workforce that Adams dropped at the Rams. Can both participant stay wholesome for a 17-game season and into the playoffs? Is 12 video games sufficient of an influence to make the numerous wage cap allocation worthwhile?
The remainder of San Francisco’s WR corps additionally has questions. Ricky Pearsall has failed to remain wholesome via his first two seasons, though when he’s on the sector he may be harmful. The 49ers misplaced Jauan Jennings to free company, and he was an vital contributor for them over the previous few years. Personally, I believed there have been few greater followers of De’Zhaun Stribling than me when it got here to the draft. I used to be nonetheless shocked when the 49ers chosen him with the primary choose within the second spherical. Shanahan is aware of his manner across the receiver place and I wouldn’t be shocked if Stribling was San Francisco’s most constant go catcher in 2026. That also wouldn’t be an general optimistic final result for a workforce relying on Pearsall and Evans to make notable impacts.
However Lombardi does have some extent with regard to how a lot Garrett upgrades the Rams’ go rush. Verse was one of the productive when it comes to complete pressures final yr and appeared prime for a possible leap in his third season. It’s powerful to lose a promising participant. Nonetheless, there is just one Myles Garrett. He will probably be a pressure multiplier for LA’s protection and create favorable alternatives for Kobie Turner, Byron Younger, Braden Fiske and others in the identical trend that he made profession years for members of the Cleveland Browns.
To me, the higher comparability of the Evans signing is to that of the Rams’ commerce for Trent McDuffie and their subsequent signing of Jaylen Watson.
With the identical concept that Evans transforms the 49ers’ receiver room, McDuffie and Watson are large upgrades to the gamers LA placed on the sector final season. There are nonetheless remaining questions on how usually McDuffie will play outdoors and whether or not the Rams diminish their funding if he primarily is an outdoor nook. Regardless, LA’s secondary is drastically improved from the place it was in 2025.
And this transfer additionally carries a direct tie to San Francisco’s signing of Evans.
When these two groups conflict no less than twice in 2026, we should always count on to see Watson in protection towards Evans usually. McDuffie is a slight of body participant. Watson ought to comply with the extra bodily receivers relying on opponent. The person who wins this matchup may play a major position in figuring out the result of those divisional matchups and in the end the pecking order throughout the NFC West.
Whereas the 49ers have a single main addition to brag about this offseason, the Rams have two. Lombardi ought to be evaluating the Mike Evans signing to LA’s commerce for Trent McDuffie and free agent signing of Jaylen Watson. Buying Myles Garrett is the cherry on high.
