San Francisco 49ers: Anquan Boldin the lone constant

A tumultuous offseason unsurprisingly yielded a woeful regular season for the San Francisco 49ers in 2015, but through quarterback changes, injuries, and disappointing debut seasons, veteran wide receiver Anquan Boldin still found a way to produce like he always does.

Recently, San Francisco 49ers possession receiver Anquan Boldin told official site senior reporter Taylor Price that he would “definitely” like to remain with the organization for the 2016 season. At 35, Boldin, who reached 13,000 total yards earlier this month, only has a couple of years left in the tank, but he isn’t ready to call it quits or move to a team in a better position, even though he has an easy way out with just one year left on his contract.

It’s a darn good thing for Trent Baalke and Co. that Boldin enjoys being a member of the 49ers organization, because you almost shudder at the thought of what this team could have been in 2015 without him. Calling the 49ers a “trainwreck” at 4-10 might be harsh, but it would be a deserved moniker for a team that is dead last in offense and allows the third-most passing yards per attempt with the third-least turnovers on defense.

More from San Francisco 49ers

While there are plenty of promising young players littered across the defense despite its disappointing play as a whole, it’s much harder to find such bright spots on the offensive side of the ball. The 49ers best building block on offense, Carlos Hyde, spent the majority of the season injured, and their most expensive signing, explosive wide receiver Torrey Smith, either wasn’t used effectively or wasn’t able to be used effectively due to the team’s oft-discussed quarterback conundrum.

The quarterback situation is the biggest storyline heading into the 2016 offseason, and one of the 49ers few positive storylines deals with the wide receiver who would help their 2016 starter the most. Even if the 49ers Week 1 starter next season isn’t a rookie, even a ho-hum veteran like Blaine Gabbert would need to have a reliable set of hands to bail him out.

Boldin has been that dependable receiver throughout his career, and his chain-moving efforts have been even more important this season than in years past. With literally no other pass-catchers on this team succeeding, Boldin’s importance could even be at an all-time high, because while his 59/691/3 line is nothing to shout about, it’s much better than the 28 and 26 receptions that the team’s second and third-leading receivers, Quinton Patton and Smith, currently boast.

If Boldin wants to return, then the 49ers need to bring him back, and I’m sure the fans have appreciated his hard work this season. He won’t match his 85 and 83-catch seasons in 2013 and 2014, respectively, but a 62% catch rate on a team that doesn’t have another wide receiver with a catch rate of 55% is pretty key, and he could probably hit 80 next season with a competent QB situation.

It will be interesting to see exactly how the Boldin contract situation develops this offseason and I’m sure we’ll hear more about him in January and February. For now, it’s nice to kick some modest praise in his way for another good year, and he’s the only skill position player who gave the 49ers real value this season.

Dec 20, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Anquan Boldin (81) catches a touchdown pass against the Cincinnati Bengals during the fourth quarter at Levi

Smith has the ability to be a game-changer in the 49ers passing attack, but without a consistent vertical passing game, Boldin had to shoulder the responsibility of carrying a passing attack led by Colin Kaepernick or Gabbert and supported by Shaun Draughn‘s 3.5 yards per carry with only Joe Staley and Alex Boone providing steady offensive line play.

In fact, outside of the three perennially strong veterans (Boldin, Staley, and Boone), the 49ers offense was a full-blown incompetence machine. After all, not even those three could save Jim Tomsula’s team from being 32nd in scoring, yards per game, and yards per pass.

Some might say the 49ers will be too cheap to pay Boldin, but since he’ll probably only command a one-year deal and has proven to be a low-risk player, I don’t see the harm in throwing $5-6 million at him for another season of work.

More nfl spin zone: Do the 49ers have one of the NFL's most untradeable players?

His market value should be the same or slightly lower than it was under his previous two-year deal with the team, and the 49ers shouldn’t be picky with their best and most consistent pass-catcher.