Perhaps the biggest question for the San Francisco 49ers this offseason is…
Will Anquan Boldin return in 2014?
The 11-year pro was certainly productive in his first season with the 49ers. Boldin caught 85 passes for 1,179 receiving yards and had seven touchdown catches on his way to being selected as the team's Most Valuable Player.
The 2013 regular season also saw Boldin post his most receptions in a single season since 2008, most receiving yards in a year since 2006 and most touchdown grabs in a year since 2010.
Khaled Elsayed of ProFootballFocus.com brought Boldin's production into greater focus by discussing the top NFL receivers in a yards per route analyis piece.
"A simple enough concept, that means we're not looking at just the total yards but rather the opportunity players had to collect those yards," Elsayed wrote. "After all, 1,000 is a big number and certainly bigger than 600. But if you collected those 600 yards running just one hundred routes, as opposed to collecting 1,000 running 500, is the 600 not more impressive?"
The number crunching showed Boldin as the NFL's No. 4 receiver in terms of yards per route run. Boldin (2.55) finished behind three respected receivers: Julio Jones (2.74), Calvin Johnson (2.72) and Josh Gordon (2.68).
So what do the numbers really tell us? It says Boldin is still a quality target entering his 12th season in the league.
More 49ers headlines can be found in today's Morning Tailgate, presented by State Farm.
Bill Williamson of ESPN.com continued his ranking of the top 60 players on the 49ers roster.
NFL.com announced the league's partnership with CBS to air Thursday and Saturday night games in 2014.
Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com examined the 49ers needs at wide receiver.
Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee discussed Donte Whitner's options in free agency.
Graphic designer John Raya created 32 NFL helmets inspired by Star Wars.
49ers.com looked at how far 49ers players have come since National Signing Day.
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