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Come Fan with UsWednesday, August 5, 2026

49ers’ fantasy options at receiver aren’t clear, haven’t done much thus far in preseason

Anquan Boldin, Michael Crabtree and Stevie Johnson are all very good receivers, but the pecking order is still unclear and none of the three have been particularly impressive in the preseason. We break down the fantasy implications.

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco 49ers are hoping to have a potent offense with a healthy Michael Crabtree, a returning Anquan Boldin and the offseason addition of Stevie Johnson. It'll be the first time in recent history they have three receivers of that caliber on the roster at once, but thus far in the preseason, none of the quarterbacks are hooking up with them particularly well.

Between the four targets spread among those three receivers from Sunday's preseason game against the Denver Broncos, only one reception was made: a 10-yard strike to Boldin. In the team's preseason opener, only Johnson saw passes thrown his way, and he caught one of the two for 6 yards.

Fantasy Impact: The 49ers will probably be just as good as they have been in recent seasons once the regular season rolls around, but fantasy owners hoping for some improvement and even some clarity when it comes to the passing game have to be a little disappointed with the way things have gone. Then you have the struggles at the backup quarterback position, essentially removing all three receivers as viable fantasy options in the event that Kaepernick goes down.

The silver lining here is that this is the preseason, and Jim Harbaugh being a guy who likes to keep things close to the vest, it’s possible we’re seeing a very simple, very raw offensive playbook. The quarterbacks aren’t accurate, but they’re also making one read and simply trying to get the ball away.

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