There were plenty of reasons the 49ers offense floundered in 2014, but one thing that can't be brushed under the rug is receiver drops.
Michael Crabtree and Anquan Boldin, who were known as two of the surer-handed possession receivers in the NFL until this past season, tied for the ninth-most drops in the NFL in 2014.
Crabtree finished with seven drops on 108 targets, and Boldin finished with seven drops on 131 targets, according to the metrics at Sporting Charts.
By definition, this statistic counts the number of times an intended receiver touches the ball but fails to catch it. If the ball is thrown but the receiver never gets his hands on it, it is not recorded as a drop.
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Of his 108 targets, Crabtree recorded 68 grabs for 698 yards and four touchdowns.
Of his 131 targets, Boldin reeled in 83 balls for 1,062 yards and five touchdowns.
Tight end Vernon Davis also dropped five of 50 targets this season, giving him a 10 percent drop rate.
Between Colin Kaepernick's top-three receivers, there were at least 19 balls that should have been caught.
The 49ers quarterback finished with a completion percentage of 60.5. Without the 19 drops, Kaepernick's completion percentage in 2014 would have been a career-high 64.4.
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