Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
If the San Francisco 49ers want to have any chance to repeat as NFC Champions and head to back-to-back Super Bowls, quarterback Colin Kaepernick is going to have to be the hero on offense. After the deadline passed Saturday in which teams have to trim their roster down to the 53-man limit, the 49ers look especially thin at wide out — as expected.
With budding star Michael Crabtree out for a while still after suffering a ruptured achilles, the 49ers’ depth chart looks like this at wide receiver heading into week one: Anquan Boldin, Kyle Williams, Quinton Patton, Marlon Moore and Jonathan Baldwin.
Out of all of those guys, of course Boldin has the most experience and should be the easy number one option out of the bunch. Beyond that, experience is at a minimum.
Williams is entering his fourth season as a pro and has caught 35 passes for 461 yards and scored four touchdowns. Moore, also a fourth-year pro, has only 12 catches in his career for 244 yards and two scores.
Patton is a rookie they’re excited about and has performed well throughout camp and the preseason, finding the end zone a couple of times. Baldwin, well, is a draft bust that the team acquired recently from the Kansas City Chiefs for their former draft bust, A.J. Jenkins.
Looking at the receivers in San Francisco, Kaepernick is going to have his work cut out for him. He and running back Frank Gore should be the focal point of the offense with tight end Vernon Davis close behind. If this squad wants any success in 2013, offensively, these wideouts will have to step it up, and, do it in a big way.
Ryan Heckman is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ryanmheckman, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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