Ja'Marr Chase vs Mike Evans: Who Should You Start?
Ja'Marr Chase and Mike Evans are at different tiers heading into 2026. The Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver averaged 15.7 PPG in 2025, a full 7.0 points per game ahead of Mike Evans's 8.7 with the San Francisco 49ers. That kind of gap doesn't close on matchup alone.
The per-game difference of 7.0 points favors Ja'Marr Chase, though savvy managers know that gap can shrink or widen depending on the weekly slate. Defensive matchup, recent scoring trends, and health status all shift the calculus from one wide receiver to the other.
Target volume is the story here. Ja'Marr Chase saw 185 targets in 2025, while Mike Evans drew 61. That workload gap usually translates into a higher weekly floor for Ja'Marr Chase, even in weeks where Mike Evans posts the bigger ceiling game. Consistency-minded managers lean toward target share; boom-bust managers chase the upside.
Ja'Marr Chase has his bye in Week 12, and Mike Evans rests in Week 9. Managers rostering both need waiver wire depth at wide receiver for those two weeks, and that is exactly the kind of planning DraftCall's matchup engine surfaces automatically so you are not scrambling on a Sunday morning.
