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San Francisco 49ers: 5 Biggest Mistakes the Team Made This Offseason

By Trevor Irvine

January 20, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke addresses the media in a press conference after naming Chip Kelly (not pictured) as the new head coach for the 49ers at Levi's Stadium Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
January 20, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke addresses the media in a press conference after naming Chip Kelly (not pictured) as the new head coach for the 49ers at Levi's Stadium Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 6, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers Anquan Boldin poses with the Walter Payton Man of the Year award at the NFL Honors press room at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 6, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers Anquan Boldin poses with the Walter Payton Man of the Year award at the NFL Honors press room at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Anquan Boldin should have been brought back

The Niners are rolling the dice in going with their youth movement for 2016. They have a lot of talented younger players, but there is no substitute for veteran leadership.

It is here whether the team has erred in not bringing back veteran wideout Anquan Boldin. Yes, his stats have declined each of the last two seasons, but there is no stat for the leadership he brought to the locker room.

Even at 35 years old, the Niners could have got another solid season out of him. He could have been very valuable in the development of new receivers Eric Rogers and Aaron Burbridge.

He did have the case of the “dropsies” in a few games in 2015, and whether this was the concern (or his lack of foot speed) to not bring him back is an interesting question. He could still make the tough catch and he could still help in moving the chains, so not having his presence in 2016 is a concern.

In 2015 he had an above-average season. Per Pro Football Focus, he ranked 33rd out of 121 qualified receivers with a grade of plus-79.6 (from a zero to 100 scale) so it’s not like he completely plummeted.

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And with the huge salary cap room, it is not a money issue to bring him back for one last ride.

With him not on the field, the Niners offense need career years from Bruce Ellington and Quinton Patton, and need production from DeAndre Smelter and DeAndrew White. Kelly likes his four-man receiver sets as part of offensive plan, so these guys are going to get plenty of opportunities.

The Niners receiving game needs to be effective to rebuild the glory from previous teams. As we all saw from 2015, scoring 14.9 points per game doesn’t win you too many football games.

Boldin could have played a part in this process, but it isn’t meant to be. This thinking has the chance to be wrong. Again.

These five mistakes are not all-inclusive, and there were other decisions (or lack thereof) which could be easily viewed as problems.

Let’s hope these decisions don’t come to haunt us Niner fans in 2016. Or it’s going to be a long four months.

Next: 4 49ers Who Could Possibly Struggle Under Chip Kelly

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated.