Anquan Boldin has been thrown to the Lions, which is good news for some players, bad for others. As for Boldin himself, it at least gives him a home for 2016, but doesn't necessarily make him a player worth using a draft pick on.
There was some recent talk, you'll recall, about Boldin perhaps signing with the New Orleans Saints. Later it came out that although he'd worked out for them a while back, they weren't offering him a contract. Had he signed with them, it would have been bad news for some other intriguing receivers, notably rookie Michael Thomas. Willie Snead was another who'd have been hurt, potentially, in terms of targets. Not an issue anymore.
With the Lions, Boldin's presence would seem to hurt presumptive No. 2 Marvin Jones. The Lions gave him a big money deal, but a player like Boldin can cut into those looks. Golden Tate should be fine as the No. 1, but Jones doesn't look quite as appealing. And the recent stories talking up T.J. Jones as a viable No. 3 in the offense can be quietly forgotten. Jones isn't going to have any kind of breakout year with (probably) three clear wide receivers ahead of him.
Might even be a negative for Eric Ebron, since Boldin is essentially a big, slow tight end at this point. Some of the passes that might have gone to Theo Riddick now won't. A plus for Matthew Stafford and the passing offense in general, but hurts the other pass catchers.
As for Boldin himself, he's 35 years old. Ian Allan put together a table last month (reproduced below) showing the best seasons this century by receivers 34 or older; the 22 who finished as top-30 receivers in those years. (Ones older than Boldin at the time are in bold.) Can Boldin join that list as the likely No. 3 in Detroit? Unlikely.
| BEST SEASONS BY RECEIVERS WHO WERE 34 (OR OLDER) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Age | No | Yards | TD | Points | Rank |
| 2006 | Marvin Harrison, Ind. | 34 | 95 | 1,366 | 12 | 208.6 | 1 |
| 2000 | Cris Carter, Minn. | 34 | 96 | 1,274 | 9 | 181.4 | 10 |
| 2001 | Tim Brown, Oak. | 35 | 91 | 1,165 | 10 | 180.4 | 8 |
| 2000 | Tim Brown, Oak. | 34 | 76 | 1,128 | 11 | 180.0 | 11 |
| 2001 | Jerry Rice, Oak. | 38 | 83 | 1,139 | 9 | 167.9 | 12 |
| 2002 | Jerry Rice, Oak. | 39 | 92 | 1,211 | 7 | 165.1 | 11 |
| 2004 | Rod Smith, Den. | 34 | 79 | 1,144 | 7 | 159.7 | 17 |
| 2004 | Jimmy Smith, Jac. | 35 | 74 | 1,172 | 6 | 153.2 | 21 |
| 2007 | Bobby Engram, Sea. | 34 | 94 | 1,147 | 6 | 150.7 | 16 |
| 2006 | Joey Galloway, T.B. | 34 | 62 | 1,057 | 7 | 148.6 | 15 |
| 2005 | Keenan McCardell, S.D. | 35 | 70 | 917 | 9 | 146.3 | 17 |
| 2009 | Derrick Mason, Balt. | 35 | 73 | 1,028 | 7 | 145.0 | 17 |
| 2009 | Donald Driver, G.B. | 34 | 70 | 1,061 | 6 | 143.4 | 19 |
| 2014 | Steve Smith Sr., Balt. | 35 | 79 | 1,065 | 6 | 142.5 | 20 |
| 2007 | Joey Galloway, T.B. | 35 | 57 | 1,014 | 6 | 137.5 | 21 |
| 2008 | Derrick Mason, Balt. | 34 | 80 | 1,037 | 5 | 136.0 | 22 |
| 2005 | Rod Smith, Den. | 35 | 83 | 1,055 | 5 | 135.5 | 21 |
| 2005 | Jimmy Smith, Jac. | 36 | 86 | 1,073 | 3 | 125.3 | 24 |
| 2008 | Isaac Bruce, S.F. | 35 | 61 | 835 | 7 | 125.2 | 25 |
| 2008 | Muhsin Muhammad, Car. | 35 | 65 | 923 | 5 | 122.3 | 28 |
| 2000 | Jerry Rice, S.F. | 37 | 75 | 805 | 7 | 122.3 | 26 |
| 2010 | Derrick Mason, Balt. | 36 | 61 | 802 | 7 | 122.2 | 28 |
--Andy Richardson