SF 49ers: Top 6 wide receiver duos in franchise history

SF 49ers Duo No. 6: Anquan Boldin and Michael Crabtree

Years Together: 2013-2014

A two-year span doesn’t tell too much, but the Niners sure had to feel good about landing a player who beat them in Super Bowl XLVII, Anquan Boldin, in that 2013 trade with the Baltimore Ravens.

Boldin emerged as a key go-to target for then-quarterback Colin Kaepernick, capping off his three-year stint in San Francisco with 237 receptions for 3030 yards and 16 touchdowns. And Boldin’s 2014 campaign marked the last time an SF 49ers pass-catcher recorded 1,000-plus yards until tight end George Kittle hit that mark in 2018.

Few could also forget Boldin’s clutch touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks in the 2014 NFC Championship game, too. It’s only unfortunate the Niners ended up losing that game.

In part because of Kaepernick’s fade attempt to Crabtree in the waning minutes.

Crabtree, the SF 49ers’ top pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, never truly panned out as a bona fide No. 1 option. He missed all but five games with Boldin in 2013 because of injury, yet 2014 proved to be a solid enough year.

While Boldin was on his way to 1,062 receiving yards that season, Crabtree held his own with an impressive 68-catch, 698-yard, four-touchdown campaign of his own, which helped give San Francisco a legitimate one-two punch at the position.

But Crabtree would be gone in 2015 and Boldin a year later, making this duo awfully short but well remembered.