Mike Evans or Christian Kirk: Who should I draft for my fantasy team in 2023?
Mike Evans and Christian Kirk are two under-the-radar options in fantasy football. They can help your team win if drafted at the right spot and used in the correct position.
Their projected average draft positions are not far off, with Kirk ranging from 73-75 while Evans is at 78 or 79.
Those numbers place them in the seventh round for 10-men fantasy leagues. They can deliver fantasy points every week, even if they don’t get many headlines. However, one has a slight advantage in Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season.
Is Mike Evans a good fantasy pick?
Consistency makes Mike Evans a valuable fantasy football asset. He has nine consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to start his career, including 1,124 yards and six touchdowns last season. The year before, he had a career-high 14 touchdowns.
Evans did have some lows last year, like his 29-yard performance in Week 17 against the Arizona Cardinals.
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Conversely, he had his bright moments, especially during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers regular-season finale, wherein he had ten catches for 207 yards and three touchdowns.
His receptions have slightly increased from 70 in 2020 to 74 in 2021 and 77 last year. Sustaining that trend allows him to deliver additional points for PPR and half-PPR leagues. Evans is projected to finish the 2023 regular season around the 1,000-yard mark with six touchdowns.
Is Christian Kirk a good fantasy pick?
Kirk is a welcome addition to any fantasy football team because his career is on an upward trend. After finishing with 982 yards with the Arizona Cardinals in 2021, he had 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns with the Jacksonville Jaguars last season.
Derek Brown of FantasyPros reported that Kirk ranked 12th in deep targets and 22nd in yards per route run. Those numbers make him a threat from the slot, whether for intermediate or long pass plays. However, Calvin Ridley’s addition might affect his performance in 2023.
Like Mike Evans, Christian Kirk is ideal as the third wide receiver in any fantasy football team at best. He is projected to have 900-1,000 receiving yards and six touchdowns for the Jacksonville Jaguars this season.
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Mike Evans vs. Christian Kirk: Who should I start?
Per Sportskeeda’s Start/Sit Optimizer, Christian Kirk has a slight advantage over Mike Evans for Week 1 of the 2023 season. It’s ironic because Kirk and the Jaguars will visit their division rivals, the Indianapolis Colts, in Week 1.
The Colts finished 11th in passing yards allowed per game last season at 209.9. Meanwhile, Evans and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will clash with the Minnesota Vikings, the second-worst in passing yards allowed (265.6) per game last year.
However, their quarterback situation has a drastic effect on their performance. Trevor Lawrence earned his first Pro Bowl selection after finishing with 387 completions for 4,113 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Conversely, Baker Mayfield will be Tampa Bay’s Week 1 starter. Mayfield had 2,163 yards, 10 touchdowns, and eight interceptions in 12 combined games with the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams.