Coach Kyle Shanahan on 49ers’ Two New Veteran Receivers: ‘I Love Getting … Men at the Position’

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said his team added maturity to its wide receiver corps.

The Niners added veterans Mike Evans and Christian Kirk in free agency. After protracted dramas with Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and Jauan Jennings, veteran leadership was at a premium. But Shanahan said at the NFL Annual Meetings this week that a little drama is OK for the right reasons.

“Mike’s the man,” Shanahan said of Evans. “I’ve been able to watch him for so long, like all you guys. To me, he’s definitely a Hall of Famer. I mean, he’s as good as it gets, the way he plays. I’ve always just liked the competitor in Mike. … His talent and everything has separated him, but really just how he’s come to work every day, the people I know who’ve practiced with him, the way he is in the building, how important football is to him. The fact that he chose to come to us just for the football situation and stuff shows how important football is to this guy.”

Evans spent all of his 12-year career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after being drafted seventh overall out of Texas A&M in 2014. For 11 consecutive seasons, Evans put up 1,000 receiving yards, tying the record set by Hall of Famer Jerry Rice. He won a Super Bowl with Tom Brady in the 2020-21 season. He earned two Second Team All-Pro nominations and six Pro Bowl selections.

He had similar praise for Kirk, another established veteran who understands the game.

“I’ve been a huge fan of Christian since he came out of college,” Shanahan said. “[I] hated going against him in Arizona. Watching him on film this year, I think he looks like the same guy he’s always looked. He had a couple injuries that set him back, but when he came back from it, he’s the same dude. … He competes, he blocks. I love getting, for lack of a better word, men at the position, which guys have done it before, and nothing’s too big for him.”

Kirk was also drafted out of Texas A&M, in the second round of the 2018 draft by his hometown team, the Arizona Cardinals. He spent his first four seasons with Arizona, then signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022. In his first year with the Jags, he started 17 games for the first time and had the first 1,000-yard season of his career. But injuries dampened his career: He started just seven games in both 2023 and 2024. He was traded to the Houston Texans in 2025, and appeared in 13 games but had just three starts.

Evans and Kirk join a 49ers wide receiver room that has gone through a lot of turnover. Deebo Samuel was traded to the Washington Commanders a year ago; Brandon Aiyuk tore his ACL in 2024 and left the team in the middle of the 2025 season; and Jauan Jennings left the team in free agency last month.

Shanahan recounted how it took several years for those players to become leaders in the locker room. He said he likes the young receivers the team has, but they are still finding their way and proving themselves, so bringing in these veterans only adds to the room.

Veteran leadership also comes with trade-offs, which include veteran leaders calling for the ball at key moments. Shanahan has seen this before: He coached Julio Jones with the Atlanta Falcons in 2015-2016, and figured Evans would be the same way.

“Those guys who are that way, it’s OK if it’s for the right reasons. … But when guys know what’s going on and they need the ball because they know they can help you win and they know how it works, you don’t mind that at all. … I always try to tell the wideouts, ‘There’s only one person I can guarantee I could get the ball to and that’s if we hand it off to you.’ … We got so many guys that think that they’re not going to be a part of it, and then the fourth quarter comes and all of a sudden the defense changes and then they get all their stats in the fourth and they’re the reason [the other team doesn’t] win the game.”