The 49ers ranked 29th in the NFL in passing offense last season after finishing 32nd in the league — dead last — the season before. While breaking in a young quarterback with a revolving set of receivers, the team struggled to maintain any kind of legitimate threat through the air.

But times have changed. And now the Niners intend to become a passing team again.

"We definitely have the capability," quarterback Alex Smith said Thursday. "It's not going to be something like the Indianapolis Colts, but we've added people and have the ability to throw the ball. This team's talking about accomplishing a lot and we have to be able to throw the ball in order to do that."

Smith is entering his pivotal third season, and never before has the landscape in front of him looked so good. The 49ers have overhauled and upgraded their receiver corps for the second consecutive season, and Smith also has talented second-year tight end Vernon Davis emerging as a potential top target.

The No. 1 overall selection in the 2005 draft, Smith nearly doubled his passer rating last season after a dismal rookie year. He displayed substantial progress while throwing for 2,890 yards and 16 touchdowns, becoming the first quarterback in team history to take every offensive snap in a season.

He's looking to take the next step to playoff-caliber quarterback this year, and that means those numbers must continue to improve. With a capable set of weapons around him — including Pro Bowl running back Frank Gore, the team's leader with 61 receptions last year — the passing game is set up to do some damage.

"We want to turn it up and get on the map," receiver Darrell Jackson said. "Alex is going to get better every day and the sky's the limit for this guy. I think he's going to be the next Pro Bowl quarterback. Last year I guess they say there was a void, but we're expecting big things from our receiving corps."

Jackson is one of the primary reasons for those high expectations. Acquired via trade from NFC West rival Seattle in April, Jackson led the Seahawks in receptions four of the past six seasons and could provide a big boost while giving the 49ers a legitimate No. 1 wideout the team has lacked in recent seasons.

The 49ers also added veteran free agent Ashley Lelie and third-round draft pick Jason Hill to the mix at receiver to go along with holdover starter Arnaz Battle. Three other veteran receivers who played for the team last year — Bryan Gilmore, Taylor Jacobs and Brandon Williams — also are competing for roster berths and time in the receiving rotation along with All-NFL Europa standout Marcus Maxwell.

Lelie led the NFL in average yards per catch with 20.1 in 2004 and 18.3 in 2005. Battle led all San Francisco wideouts with a career-high 59 catches last year, picking up the slack when Antonio Bryant slumped after midseason then was suspended in December for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. The 49ers cut ties after one season with Bryant, who was released in March.

"What we get out of these guys that I really like is that we have football players in the group," coach Mike Nolan said. "They have been better pass receivers than the guys we've had. They have better numbers, better stats. However we get it out of them, I'm looking for that to happen."

During the heyday of their two-decade dynasty, the 49ers finished in the top 10 in NFL passing offense 18 consecutive seasons with 15 top-5 rankings during that span. The team doesn't figure to move into the upper third of the league rankings this year, but there promises to be a noteworthy jump from the past two seasons.

Then again, Gore led the NFC with a franchise-record 1,695 yards on the ground last season as the 49ers ranked sixth in the NFL in rushing offense. So San Francisco won't necessarily be tilting its offense toward the pass this year.