The 49ers just handed Mike Evans a three-year, $42.4 million deal, and that move gives Kyle Shanahan something he has never really had before: a receiver built like Evans.
At 6-foot-5 and 231 pounds, Evans is a different kind of weapon than the wideouts San Francisco has usually featured. ESPN analyst Ben Solak pointed out that Shanahan has not worked with a receiver of that size in a meaningful role, and that alone could change the shape of the offense.
“The tallest receiver to take a snap for a Shanahan-led offense is Rodney Smith, a 6-foot-5 undrafted free agent who ran five routes for the Browns in 2014. The tallest receivers to take significant snaps for a Shanahan-led offense are the 6-foot-3 Julio Jones, Josh Gordon, and Jauan Jennings.
Jennings is a bit of a misnomer. Though tall, he did not fill the traditional role of a tall receiver.
“He was one of the first big slot receivers in a mold that has now proliferated across the league, as almost half of his targets (48.5%) came from the slot in his time in San Francisco. Shanahan used his large frame as an additional blocker in the running game and a post-up player on quick-breaking routes. Outside of Jennings, Shanahan has largely run his 49ers' passing game through 6-footers like Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.”
That makes Evans a pretty clear outlier for this system. He has spent his career turning size into production, and he has done it at a high level. In his first 11 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he cleared 1,000 receiving yards every year.
Last season was a different story. Evans was limited to eight games, mostly because of hamstring injuries, and finished with 368 yards and three touchdowns.
Now he heads into his 13th NFL season with a chance to give San Francisco a new look on offense and try to deliver the bounce-back year the six-time Pro Bowler is chasing.
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