The San Francisco 49ers have come up just a game or two short of a championship the past few seasons. With one of the more dynamic quarterbacks in the league, Jim Harbaugh and company have been trying to put together an offensive unit that mirrors the skillset of Colin Kaepernick and have come up short so far. However, newly acquired wide receiver Stevie Johnson believes this 49ers roster is the best yet.
While Michael Crabtree and Anquan Boldin return as the marque wide receiver threats for Kaepernick, Johnson and Bruce Ellington have been impressing early. Brandon Lloyd is experiencing a career resurgence in San Francisco. Harbaugh made it a priority this offseason to load up on offensive weapons in order to help San Francisco's scoring efforts and Johnson believes the result is one of the more dynamic units in the NFL.
However, there could be an issue with who is on the field when. While Crabtree and Boldin will likely play every snap, who gets the crucial No. 3 spot? It is a nice problem to have certainly, but could hurt fantasy owners. Kaepernick can spread the ball out a lot more than he could in the past meaning someone is not going to have the 1,000-yard season they once did. Through two preseason games, Ellington is leading the receivers while the starters have only played a minimum amount of snaps.
"I'm pretty sure everybody already knows the bulk of it will be with Crab and Boldin, so we're just fitting in right after that," Johnson said, via Mercury News. "Whenever you get your opportunity, make it work. We have a lot of good players that can make plays. Not all can be on the field at once."
While there is a nice battle at the wide receiver position, there is also one going on at the running back spot. Frank Gore and rookie Carlos Hyde are battling for playing time as the rookie earned early praise for his performance at the start of training camp. Hyde had 39 yards on five rushes in the first preseason game, while putting 11 yards against the Denver Broncos in a game where everyone struggled to get yards.
The 49ers easily have one of the more versatile offensive units in the league which is great for San Francisco, but bad for fantasy. Kaepernick has a lot to work with and will make good use of that luxury.
