The San Francisco 49ers boast one of the NFL's most talented offenses. Quarterback Brock Purdy will have plenty of weapons at his disposal, including veteran wide receiver Mike Evans and All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey.

The expectation is that both players will help elevate the offense in 2026. However, two ESPN fantasy football analysts aren't nearly as optimistic about their outlooks.


An ESPN panel recently identified one sleeper, one breakout player, and one potential bust for the upcoming fantasy football season. Evans and McCaffrey each landed in the "bust" category.

Concerns surrounding Mike Evans


Mike Clay selected Evans, the longtime Tampa Bay Buccaneers star who signed with the 49ers this offseason, as one of his potential fantasy busts. Clay cited the veteran receiver's age and recent injury history as reasons for concern entering his 13th NFL season.

"Mike Evans is a future Hall of Famer, but he'll be hard-pressed to deliver a strong bounce-back campaign entering his age-33 season and first with the 49ers," Clay wrote. "Evans missed nine games due to injury last season and, even when active, his numbers were down (career low 12.1 PPG and one top-20 outing in seven full games)."

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The 49ers brought in Evans to serve as Purdy's top receiving target following the departures of several other wideouts. Still, Clay believes Evans may be better suited as a fantasy WR2 or WR3 at this stage of his career.

"Over the past decade, Larry Fitzgerald and Julian Edelman are the only 33-plus-year-old wideouts to deliver top-25 fantasy campaigns, and they primarily worked in the slot and/or short range," Clay wrote. "Evans has generally made his hay as a downfield, red-zone playmaker. He'll benefit from Kyle Shanahan's efficient offense, but Evans panning out as your WR2/3 is going to require some serious touchdown fortune."


Is Christian McCaffrey running out of steam?


Daniel Dopp chose McCaffrey as his potential fantasy bust. The fantasy expert cited the star running back's massive workload in 2025 as the primary concern.

McCaffrey touched the football a career-high and league-leading 413 times during the 2025 regular season, totaling 2,126 scrimmage yards and 17 touchdowns. While those numbers were outstanding, he averaged just 3.9 yards per carry—his lowest mark since 2020.

"Christian McCaffrey proved doubters wrong last year, reclaiming his position as a top-three fantasy running back," Dopp wrote. "But this year is not last year. This year, McCaffrey is coming off a 450-touch season across the regular season and playoffs. Just like I did following Saquon Barkley's massive workload the year before, I'm fading the player with that kind of touch count in the previous season."

It'll be up to McCaffrey to prove his doubters wrong by showing he can still put together back-to-back standout campaigns at age 30.

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