San Francisco 49ers: Takeaways From Week One

Kaepernick Will Rely on the Old, But Mix in the New

Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Other than the talk of suspensions (Aldon Smith and perhaps Ray McDonald), the biggest story of the 49ers’ offseason was the addition of playmakers on the offensive side of the ball.

San Francisco added veteran receivers Stevie Johnson and Brandon Lloyd, while also drafting dual-sport star Bruce Ellington. They re-signed Anquan Boldin to pair with Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree.

Sunday was the first look into how Colin Kaepernick would utilize his new weapons, and it didn’t look too different from last year.

Kaepernick relied heavily on Boldin, once again, completing eight passes for 99 yards. Both of Kaepernick’s touchdown passes went to Davis, which wasn’t a surprise considering he’s always been a dangerous red-zone threat. In fact, Davis caught 13 touchdown passes last season, which was good enough for the league’s third-highest total.

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While Davis will continue to be a formidable threat, his numbers are bound to drop this year because of the other threats San Francisco has. Davis hauled in four balls on Sunday and totaled 44 yards.

Kaepernick also found Crabtree twice, but Dallas kept him under wraps for most of the game. Those three receives (Boldin, Davis, and Crabtree) combined for 14 of Kaepernick’s 16 completions. That’s not any different than last year when Kyle Williams and Jonathan Baldwin struggled to have any offensive impact.

The other two receptions came from Johnson, who was able to find cracks in Dallas’ defense on his way to racking up 33 yards. Lloyd was targeted once, but he will have to wait until next Sunday to record his first reception of the season.

If Sunday is a sign of things to come, it’s obvious that Kaepernick will rely on the same three weapons he had at his disposal last year. Johnson, Lloyd, and Ellington’s receptions will be limited, but they will help to space the field to give the others more room to work.