​The San Francisco 49ers added veteran wide receiver Mike Evans in free agency this offseason, giving Brock Purdy a new outside target as the team looks to reload its passing attack. Now, ESPN’s Ben Solak has broken down exactly how head coach Kyle Shanahan might deploy the 13-year veteran within his offense.The addition has already made an impression inside the building. Tight end George Kittle, who played a role in recruiting Evans to San Francisco, called the veteran “the first legit veteran wide receiver” the 49ers have had since 2019.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEvans enters the 49ers offense on the back of an unprecedented streak that finally snapped last season. Evans surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first 11 NFL seasons before falling short of the mark in 2025 while dealing with injuries that limited him to a career-low eight games.Despite the down year, Solak believes Evans is positioned to make an immediate impact in Shanahan’s scheme — and not just as a size mismatch.Solak notes that Evans breaks the mold of every receiver Shanahan has previously featured. The tallest receivers to see real playing time in a Shanahan offense have topped out around 6-foot-3, whether that was Julio Jones, Josh Gordon or Jauan Jennings — and even Jennings, Solak points out, functioned more as a big slot receiver than a true outside pass-catcher. Evans, at 6-foot-5, 231 pounds with arms longer than 35 inches, fits a mold Shanahan has never had.That size translates directly to production in contested situations, according to Solak, who highlights that Evans ranks third in the NFL in touchdowns on plays inside the 10-yard line over the past three seasons — most of them coming on tight-window throws with no separation.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut Solak’s larger point is that Evans isn’t just a jump-ball specialist. He notes Evans ranks third in the league in yards per route run on deep in-breaking routes over the last two seasons, the exact concepts, like digs and crossers, that anchor Shanahan’s passing game.Solak also points to Evans’ 2024 season under then-Buccaneers coordinator Liam Coen as a blueprint, when Evans set career highs in slot usage, catch rate and yards per route run while producing well against two-high safety shells for the first time in his career — suggesting Shanahan could unlock a similarly expanded role in San Francisco.Either way, the addition of Evans gives Shanahan and Purdy a tried-and-true pass-catcher that is both a redzone/endzone threat and someone who can make catches all over the field at any point of attack. It’ll be exciting to see exactly how the 49ers deploy Evans in 2026.This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: ESPN analyst has idea for how the 49ers can best utilize Mike Evans