Most notable are the additions of veteran regular Evans, a likely future Hall of Famer, and unknown to second-round pick Stribling.
Evans chose to join the 49ers over staying with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and offers a proven talent like Purdy has never played with, full credit to Aiyuk, Samuel and Jennings.
Evans has gone to six Pro Bowls and amassed 11 1,000-yard seasons to start his career. Aiyuk, Samuel and Jennings have combined for one Pro Bowl and three 1,000-yard campaigns.
“He’s been awesome,” Purdy said of Evans. “Obviously, just what he’s done in his career, he’s a Hall of Famer, 1,000-yard seasons really year after year throughout his career. He’s won a Super Bowl. Just like being around him and his presence and understanding, you know, what it takes to play with him. And like, honestly, like the good press that it is that I do like a good guy and demand to succeed and demand. Love it. I want to play with guys like that. Of course, I’ve played with guys like that [Kittle] and Christian [McCaffrey] and all that. But to bring Mike into the squad now and be able to have a big target like he is, but the way he sees the game and him breaking down routes that he’s run with Tom [Brady] and Baker Mayfield and I’m like “okay this guy knows the ball.” So I’m really excited and as we go we’re just going to keep building chemistry and it’s going to be good.”
Stribling brings the promise that is emblematic of how Purdy views his WR options as a whole.
“Stribling’s a guy that’s the same and has a lot of raw talent and just throwing routes and stuff to him, getting a feel for how he moves and his speed,” Purdy said. “He’s a guy that, you know, when we obviously get him in the playbook a lot and get reps back-to-back on the field. I feel like he’s going to be a guy that can come in and make an impact right away. So, Kyle [Shanahan] and Hank [49ers passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach Leonard Hankerson] have done a really good job just developing receivers and stuff. So to have him in that group with the great receiving corps that we have right now, it’s just amazing as a quarterback. I’m like, “Let’s go.”