Wide
Receiver, Arizona Cardinals
Age: 23 (Oct.
3)
College: Florida
State
Height: 6’1” Weight: 218
Prelude:
Boldin was
originally recruited as a quarterback out of high school, but shifted to wide
receiver. Following a promising sophomore year in which he caught 41 passes,
Boldin missed all of the 2001 season due to a knee injury suffered during
preseason drills. He came back the next year to catch 65 passes for 1011 yards
and 13 touchdowns. While there were concerns about his lack of ideal speed,
Boldin was chosen by the Cardinals in the second round of the 2003 NFL draft
and made an immediate impact by setting a single-game rookie record for
receiving yards in his first regular season contest.
2003 Season Summary
Appeared in all
16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 101
[3]
Most
receptions, game – 10 (for 217 yds.) at Detroit 9/7, (for 122 yds.) at Seattle
12/21
Yards – 1377 [3]
Most yards,
game – 217 (on 10 catches) at Detroit 9/7
Average gain
– 13.6
TDs – 8 [13,
tied with Keenan McCardell, Derrick Mason & Shannon Sharpe]
200-yard
receiving games – 1
100-yard
receiving games – 5
Rushing
Attempts – 5
Yards – 40
Average gain
– 8.0
TDs – 0
Passing
Attempts – 1
Completions –
0
Yards – 0
TD passes – 0
Interceptions
– 1
Punt Returns
Returns – 20
Yards – 130
Most yards,
game – 20 (on 4 ret.) vs. Cincinnati 11/2
Average per
return – 6.5
TDs – 0
Longest
return – 19 yards
Scoring
TDs – 8
Points – 48
Awards & Honors:
NFL Rookie of
the Year: Sporting News
NFL Offensive
Rookie of the Year: AP, PFWA
Pro Bowl
Cardinals
went 4-12 to finish fourth in the NFC West.
Aftermath:
Boldin missed
six games due to a knee injury in 2004 and ended up with 56 catches for 623 yards,
and while he was still bothered by knee problems in ’05, he bounced back with a
career-high 102 receptions for 1402 yards in 14 games. Tough, strong, and
fearless across the middle, Boldin was part of an outstanding wide receiver combination
with Larry Fitzgerald. He was selected to the Pro Bowl twice more with the
Cardinals, in 2006 and ’08, and over the course of seven years with Arizona in
which he continued to fight off injuries, he accumulated 586 catches for 7520
yards and 44 TDs. However, Boldin grew dissatisfied and was dealt to the
Baltimore Ravens in 2010. His production dropped in a different offense, but he
remained an outstanding possession receiver and added another 186 receptions
for 2645 yards and 14 TDs over the course of three seasons capped by a NFL
title in 2012. Boldin moved on in a trade to the 49ers in 2013, catching 85
passes (his most since his last year in Arizona) for 1179 yards and 7 scores.
Through 2013, he has accumulated 857 catches for 11,344 yards and 65 TDs and
been named to the Pro Bowl on three occasions.
--
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were named Rookie
of the Year in the NFL, AFL (1960-69), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized
organization (Associated Press – Offense or Defense, Newspaper Enterprise
Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, or the league
itself – Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year).
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