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The Michael Crabtree conundrum continues to be the biggest piece of news in 49ers-related media. We can try to stir up a frenzy about Nnamdi Asomugha's first practice -- and this is pretty cool, granted -- but I still think that news pales in comparison to the Crabtree news.
So, since slow offseason is slow, I have been thinking a lot about the state of our receiving corps, including our TEs and our RBs. And, in light of this thinking, I am going to put forth an opinion that will likely be unpopular: I don't think we can adequately fill Crabtree's spot with internal options. The guys on the roster right now have a lot of promise. The potential is really there -- but none of them are number one receivers. And, let's be honest, Anquan Boldin isn't either.
The fact of the matter is that there aren't a ton of number one receivers lying around to be snatched up. After extensive research, I have come to the ground-breaking conclusion that there are zero receivers of Michael Crabtree's caliber lying around for us to swoop up. Bummer.
But, this shouldn't stop us from pursing another WR. If we could get somebody of comparable talent to Mr. Boldin -- which is to say, if we could have two No. 2 receivers on the team -- that would go a long way to helping the offense out. The only option I see as viable in this regard is our old friend Brandon Lloyd.
We had a post a few days ago that proposed this very idea, but it didn't seem to take off. Well, I just want to remind everybody that last year Mr. Lloyd was 89 yards shy of a 1,000 yard season (he had 911 yards). This is off of 74 receptions, making Lloyd a 12.3 yards-per-catch player (the lowest of his career, so he could potentially build off this). Boldin had 921 yards on 65 receptions for 14.2 yards-per-catch. They both had 4 TDs. Likely, Boldin is the better player of the two. He is also coming from a Joe Flacco-led team, while Lloyd is coming from the Patriots. But, I do think a one-year contract to a guy like Lloyd makes this team much better.