playNick WagonerOct 11, 2026, 11:22 PM ETCloseNick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In over a decade with the company, Nick has led ESPN’s coverage of the Niners’ 2019 and 2023 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick’s protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam’s subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team’s relocation and stadium saga.Multiple AuthorsOpen Extended ReactionsSEATTLE — After 49ers wide receiver Mike Evans introduced himself to the team’s rivalry with the Seahawks on Sunday, the superlatives from his teammates and coaches flowed as freely as the coffee that pumps through Seattle.Linebacker Fred Warner called Evans “a walking aura.” Running back Christian McCaffrey said Evans is “everything we want in a receiver.” Wideout Brandin Cooks referred to Evans as a “first-ballot Hall of Famer.” Center Jake Brendel kept it simple, noting Evans is an “official grown man.”But it was coach Kyle Shanahan who put it most simply after Evans had seven catches for 113 yards and a touchdown to push the unbeaten Niners (5-0, 3-0 NFC West) to a rousing 32-29 victory.”That’s exactly why he’s here,” he said.Indeed, after the Seahawks handled the Niners twice to end last season, including a 41-6 demolition at Lumen Field in the NFC divisional round, the 49ers wandered into the offseason searching for ways to close the gap on the eventual Super Bowl champions.Part of that came down to finding a wide receiver who can make things happen when nothing else is working.
Enter Evans, the 6-foot-5, 231-pound, No. 7 pick in the 2014 NFL draft.Coming off an injury-plagued 2025, the 33-year-old Evans sought a new challenge in free agency, landing in San Francisco and quickly becoming quarterback Brock Purdy’s favorite target.”He’s a game changer,” Purdy said. “If you give him the right looks and give him a chance, he can make defenses pay. … As a quarterback, any time I have an [opportunity] to go to him, it always feels good. He came in the clutch for us there at the end, the beginning of the game, the third-down conversion, the touchdown.”Through three quarters Sunday, the Niners had just 159 yards of offense and were averaging 4.7 yards per play.
All of their 21 points had come either from a defensive score or as a direct result of a takeaway that provided a short field.Trailing 26-21 and needing a long drive, Purdy and Evans, who was playing through a painful rib injury for the second straight week, found their groove. It started with a 15-yarder over the middle. Four plays later, it was a 9-yarder over the middle. On third-and-10 from the Seattle 49, Purdy and Evans connected over the middle again for 23 yards.
Even after a costly intentional grounding penalty on Purdy, he lofted one to Evans down the right sideline for a 28-yard gain on second-and-21. That set up a 7-yard touchdown pass to Cooks, with Evans hauling in the catch on the 2-point conversion for a 29-26 lead.”I’m on the sideline watching him do crazy stuff,” Warner said. “I’m like, we have Mike Evans. I can’t believe it.
And he’s unreal. He really doesn’t say anything. He just shows up every week and just works and then goes out there on Sunday and just dominates you.”Evans was on point even when it came to his trash talk. In a moment that went viral during the game, Evans was seen going back and forth with Seahawks cornerback Trevon Diggs.
After they exchanged words, Evans turned Diggs’ shoulder to take a look at his name and see who, exactly, he was talking to.After the game, Evans said he legitimately didn’t know Diggs was a Seahawk (Seattle signed him in August).”I was blocking him to the whistle and then he said something like I’m doing extra, or something like that,” Evans said. “And I didn’t know that was him at first because I played against him a few times and we always been cool. He was a good player. And I honestly didn’t know it was him because in the helmet, it’s hard to tell sometimes.
And we were talking trash and I think I pushed him and then I was like, ‘Who are you?’ I looked to make sure, ‘Oh, it’s f—ing Diggs.’ And then he mushed me. It should have been a penalty. But yeah, it is what it is.”What it is for the 49ers is their third 5-0 start since Shanahan took over in 2017. The Niners won the NFC West and reached the Super Bowl on each of the other two occasions.With wins over the Rams (12 victories last season), Broncos (14) and Seahawks (14), the Niners also became the second team in NFL history with a 5-0 start that included three wins against teams that had 12 or more wins in the previous season, according to ESPN Research.
The 1999 Rams are the other and went on to win the Super Bowl.Evans also moved up in the NFL record books Sunday, scoring his 112th career touchdown, which pushed him past Tony Gonzalez and into a tie with Shaun Alexander for 19th most all time.Through five games, Evans has 24 catches for 326 yards and three touchdowns, matching the total he scored in eight games for Tampa Bay last season.Asked after the game if matchups like Sunday’s are a reason he signed in San Francisco, Evans acknowledged that it was but with an eye toward much more.”It’s just what I’m here for,” Evans said. “Nothing is really promised in this game, and if you’re available to play and go out there for your team and try to do your best to help get a win, that’s what I’m going to do.”
Leave a Reply