I see that Anquan Boldin is signing with the Lions. On the one hand, Boldin is an old guy without any speed – seemingly right at the end of the road. But at the same time, his game has always been more about smarts and using his body, and he’s continued to be pretty productive.
Boldin will be 36 in October. No getting around that. And if we’re lining them all up and having them run the 40, Boldin might be the slowest receiver in the entire league.
Yet he can still muscle guys and use his body to box out defenders. He caught 237 passes the last three years in San Francisco, and he did so while playing in some pretty pathetic offenses.
In the last years, Boldin has caught 85, 83 and 69 passes, even while his team has finished in the bottom 10 in passing in all three of those seasons. In the last three years, only eight other receivers have caught 70-plus passes for a bottom-10 passing offense.
| 60 CATCHES FOR BOTTOM-10 PASSING OFFENSE | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | No | Yards | Avg | TD | Tm Rk |
| 2013 | Vincent Jackson, T.B. | 78 | 1,224 | 15.7 | 7 | 32 |
| 2015 | Jeremy Maclin, K.C. | 87 | 1,088 | 12.5 | 8 | 30 |
| 2013 | Anquan Boldin, S.F. | 85 | 1,179 | 13.9 | 7 | 31 |
| 2014 | Andre Johnson, Hou. | 85 | 936 | 11.0 | 3 | 24 |
| 2014 | Anquan Boldin, S.F. | 83 | 1,062 | 12.8 | 5 | 30 |
| 2015 | Randall Cobb, G.B. | 79 | 829 | 10.5 | 7 | 26 |
| 2014 | DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 76 | 1,210 | 15.9 | 6 | 24 |
| 2014 | Eric Decker, NYJ | 74 | 962 | 13.0 | 5 | 32 |
| 2014 | James Jones, Oak. | 73 | 666 | 9.1 | 6 | 26 |
| 2014 | Vincent Jackson, T.B. | 70 | 1,002 | 14.3 | 2 | 25 |
| 2015 | Anquan Boldin, S.F. | 69 | 789 | 11.4 | 4 | 28 |
| 2014 | Mike Evans, T.B. | 68 | 1,051 | 15.5 | 12 | 25 |
| 2013 | Greg Jennings, Minn. | 68 | 804 | 11.8 | 4 | 23 |
| 2014 | Michael Crabtree, S.F. | 68 | 698 | 10.3 | 4 | 30 |
| 2014 | Doug Baldwin, Sea. | 66 | 825 | 12.5 | 3 | 27 |
| 2013 | Golden Tate, Sea. | 64 | 898 | 14.0 | 5 | 26 |
| 2013 | Steve Smith Sr., Car. | 64 | 745 | 11.6 | 4 | 27 |
| 2015 | Sammy Watkins, Buff. | 60 | 1,047 | 17.5 | 9 | 29 |
| 2013 | Rod Streater, Oak. | 60 | 888 | 14.8 | 4 | 24 |
| 2014 | Dwayne Bowe, K.C. | 60 | 754 | 12.6 | 0 | 29 |
I think he makes a decent depth pickup for the Lions. Bring him in and see what he’s got. Golden Tate should be their No. 1 receiver. They’ve signed Marvin Jones to be more of their deep threat. But they don’t have much else – TJ Jones, Corey Fuller, Jeremy Kerley. Eric Ebron is a tight end who’s like a wide receiver, but he’s been a huge disappointment so far.
Makes sense to give Boldin a chance to maybe win a roster spot. (Not worth drafting in fantasy leagues, I think).
—Ian Allan