Michael Crabtree excited about 'legendary' Boldin

The San Francisco 49ers have tinkered with their wide-receiving unit in the past two offseasons, trying to build stability around Michael Crabtree.

The team's trade for Anquan Boldin went a long way toward solidifying things. During a Tuesday appearance on "NFL Total Access," Crabtree explained his reaction to the move.

"One legendary guy leaves, another one comes in," said Crabtree, referring to the departed Randy Moss and -- we suppose -- Boldin. "We need him. The guy can make some plays. We're short on receivers with Teddy Ginn and Randy Moss leaving. The addition of Anquan should be great."

Crabtree calls Boldin a "playmaker" who can play inside or outside. Boldin isn't going to be the week-in and week-out star he was during the most recent postseason, but his presence is an obvious upgrade over Moss. With Mario Manningham and Kyle Williams recovering from serious knee injuries, Boldin is even more important.

The big question at wide receiver is how good Crabtree can be with a full season of Colin Kaepernick throwing him the football. In 10 starts with Kaepernick, Crabtree had 63 catches for 898 yards and eight touchdowns. That compared to a 42/494/4 line in nine games with Alex Smith.

Citing his preference to avoid controversy, Crabtree sidestepped a question from Andrew Siciliano about whether Kaepernick trusted him more than Smith. That's debatable, but we know Crabtree went from good to great after Jim Harbaugh made the switch at quarterback.