David Lombardi from The SF Standard is often a lightning rod in his coverage of the San Francisco 49ers. His latest take is sure to stir debate between fans of the Los Angeles Rams and within the NFC West.
“Mike Evans will likely have a bigger positive impact on the 49ers than Myles Garrett has on the Rams”
His reasoning:
It’s simple logic. LA already had a top-8 pass rush win rate late year and wasn’t deficient at DE. Jared Verse is an upper-tier player.
Meanwhile, SF was very deficient at WR—particularly the X, a spot that’ll Trigger compounding returns in (Kyle) Shanahan’s offense.
The Rams’ pass rush should be better. The 49ers’ WR corps can be transformed.
All additions happen in the context of a team sport.
To Lombardi’s credit, I find him highly entertaining. With that said, he’s ever the optimist and rarely critiques moves by San Francisco’s front office. There is plenty to complain about especially with their draft classes over the last two years.
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In my view, the 49ers’ signing of Evans is an attempt to emulate the magic LA found with Davante Adams last season. Adams was as automatic as they come towards the goal line and helped correct the Rams’ years-long red zone woes. Evans could easily have the same impact in San Francisco. He still brings the same risks to the team that Adams brought to the Rams. Can either player remain healthy for a 17-game season and into the playoffs? Is 12 games enough of an impact to make the significant salary cap allocation worthwhile?
The rest of San Francisco’s WR corps also has questions. Ricky Pearsall has failed to stay healthy through his first two seasons, although when he’s on the field he can be dangerous. The 49ers lost Jauan Jennings to free agency, and he was an important contributor for them over the last few years. Personally, I thought there were few bigger fans of De’Zhaun Stribling than me when it came to the draft. I was still shocked when the 49ers selected him with the first pick in the second round. Shanahan knows his way around the receiver position and I wouldn’t be shocked if Stribling was San Francisco’s most consistent pass catcher in 2026. That still wouldn’t be an overall positive outcome for a team counting on Pearsall and Evans to make notable impacts.
But Lombardi does have a point in regards to how much Garrett upgrades the Rams’ pass rush. Verse was one of the most productive in terms of total pressures last year and seemed prime for a potential jump in his third season. It’s tough to lose a promising player. Still, there is only one Myles Garrett. He will be a force multiplier for LA’s defense and create favorable opportunities for Kobie Turner, Byron Young, Braden Fiske and others in the same fashion that he made career years for members of the Cleveland Browns.
To me, the better comparison of the Evans signing is to that of the Rams’ trade for Trent McDuffie and their subsequent signing of Jaylen Watson.
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With the same idea that Evans transforms the 49ers’ receiver room, McDuffie and Watson are massive upgrades to the players LA put on the field last season. There are still remaining questions about how often McDuffie will play outside and whether the Rams diminish their investment if he mainly is an outside corner. Regardless, LA’s secondary is drastically improved from where it was in 2025.
And this move also carries a direct tie to San Francisco’s signing of Evans.
When these two teams clash at least twice in 2026, we should expect to see Watson in coverage against Evans often. McDuffie is a slight of frame player. Watson should follow the more physical receivers depending on opponent. The individual that wins this matchup could play a significant role in determining the outcome of these divisional matchups and ultimately the pecking order within the NFC West.
While the 49ers have a single major addition to brag about this offseason, the Rams have two. Lombardi should be comparing the Mike Evans signing to LA’s trade for Trent McDuffie and free agent signing of Jaylen Watson. Acquiring Myles Garrett is the cherry on top.
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