Christian McCaffrey reminded everyone last season he’s still one of the most explosive players in football. After playing only four games in 2024 because of a knee injury, he came back and put up 2,126 yards from scrimmage with 17 touchdowns. He made All-Pro First Team. He won Comeback Player of the Year. That part of the story is settled.
But here’s the thing the 49ers front office clearly noticed and decided to fix: McCaffrey kept running into crowded boxes last season and finding nothing there. San Francisco ranked 30th in yards per rushing attempt in 2025, which is basically unheard of for a Kyle Shanahan offense. The last time a Shanahan-led team finished outside the top 10 in that stat was 2021. It was a red flag that needed addressing.
So the 49ers went out and signed Mike Evans.
The veteran wide receiver spent 12 years in Tampa Bay before agreeing to a three-year, $42.4 million deal with San Francisco. Evans is 32 years old now but he’s still a physical nightmare for defensive backs. He uses his size and experience to win in the red zone. He fights for contested catches. And he forces defenses to respect the deep part of the field in a way San Francisco’s receiving corps didn’t always demand last season.
Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr made the connection directly. He wrote that the Evans signing was meant to fix the problem of McCaffrey “running into so many heavy boxes and finding no room.” Orr also noted that people might be sleeping on a team that could “very easily play in a Super Bowl just down the coast.”
Having a legit downfield threat like Evans on the outside means safeties have to stay honest. They can’t just creep toward the line of scrimmage every time McCaffrey lines up in the backfield. That alone changes things for the run game. And in the red zone, where defenders pack the box even tighter, Evans gives Shanahan a different kind of weapon. A jump-ball option. A guy who can win one-on-one even when the defense knows the ball is coming his way.
McCaffrey is 30 now and he’s been putting in the work this offseason. He says he’s ready to carry a heavy load again. But with Evans lining up outside, maybe he won’t have to do quite as much of the heavy lifting alone.
The 49ers finished 12-5 last season with a healthy McCaffrey. Then they lost in the divisional round to Seattle. That loss stung. The front office clearly looked at what went wrong and decided the offense needed another layer. Evans might be that layer.
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