Ask people about 49ers wide receiver Pierre Garcon and a theme quickly emerges.

“He plays angry,” general manager John Lynch said.

“Pierre,” head coach Kyle Shanahan offered, “is a bulldog, and he’s ready to fight every single play.”

And, finally, there are teammates who laugh about his inner linebacker: “We always joke that Pierre is looking for someone to run over,” quarterback Brian Hoyer said. “He’s an angry guy.”

Shanahan was happy to get the angry guy in March, and their relationship explains why the 49ers outbid others to sign Garcon to a five-year, $47.5 million deal with $17 million fully guaranteed.

Garcon and Shanahan, then an offensive coordinator, were together in Washington in 2012 and ’13, and Garcon’s 113 catches in their final year is the eighth highest total in the NFL since 2010.

Still, on the surface, it could be viewed as a curious signing: The 49ers are rebuilding and Garcon is 31 and has never been to a Pro Bowl.

However, Garcon’s blend of talent and tenacity makes him an ideal wideout for Shanahan, who prizes wide receivers who can block. Garcon was signed to help enliven a feeble offense and set a team-wide tone with his toughness.

“As much as we invested in him, you better be productive first and foremost,” Lynch said. “But Kyle does place a premium on wide receivers blocking, and there may not be a better one in the league at it than Pierre.”

Garcon, 6-foot and 211 pounds, is similar in style to Anquan Boldin, one of two wideouts to post a 1,000-yard season for the 49ers since 2003. After Boldin retired from the Bills last month, Shanahan was asked about his career, and his 219-word ode to Boldin helps explain his appreciation for Garcon.

Shanahan, who has never met Boldin, termed him one of his favorite wide receivers in NFL history and used him as an example of how wideouts can set the tone for an offense. Shanahan’s point: Unlike the other positions, wide receivers can “pick and choose” when they play physically, and Boldin frowned on finesse.

A few days later, Shanahan was asked if Garcon belonged in the same category.

“Definitely,” Shanahan said. “That’s what, to me, separates Pierre from other people. He will make your whole offense tougher and raise everyone’s standards.”

Of course, the 49ers didn’t invest heavily in Garcon simply because he’s blue collar. After signing, he became the most accomplished skill-position player on an offense that has scored the third-fewest points in the NFL since 2015.

Garcon has the seventh most receptions in the NFL over the past four seasons (332), and he and New England’s Julian Edelman are the only players on the list who have never been voted to a Pro Bowl.

Garcon makes a convincing case that he’s comfortable with the lack of recognition. And that could be just because he’s been conditioned to be overlooked: He was a sixth-round pick by the Colts in 2008 after playing at Division III Mount Union University in Alliance, Ohio.

“I actually appreciate it,” Garcon said of his under-the-radar status. “I don’t have to worry about nothing. I’m not really into the popularity contest. I just enjoy playing football. That’s what matters. Not the publicity that comes with it. I just enjoy being who I am. Anyway, they say no news is good news.”

Garcon even downplays his tough-guy status. Asked about his willingness to go over the middle, where huge hits are more common, he smiles and notes that no receivers want to “make their living there.” He also declines to detail any injuries he’s dealt with while playing in 71 straight games (“Everyone deals with things”), or the hardest hits he’s shaken off.

Garcon doesn’t talk much, but Shanahan knows from experience that he can actually be quite chatty. Garcon has been known to chirp about the lack of passes thrown his way, which sounds like an all-about-me wideout. But Shanahan says it comes from an intense desire to do his part.

“If he doesn’t play well, he’s going to be so angry that you might think he’s angry with you,” Shanahan said. “But he’s so mad at himself that he’s not helping the team. He does get mad when he doesn’t get the ball, but it’s different from other guys.

“That’s why I can deal with it. It’s not like so he can go tell all his boys to get him in the fantasy draft. He wants to earn his contract. He doesn’t want to let people down.”

Shanahan has also learned that Garcon can get frustrated with some of his more challenging blocking assignments, but the coach knows “when the ball’s snapped Pierre will do it, and he’ll do it as hard as he can.”

Asked about this, Garcon smiled. Yes, he might be a bulldog who plays angry, but he’d still rather run a route than run into a linebacker.

“It’s cool to block (defensive backs) that are your size, but when you have to receive the hit instead of doing some actual blocking it gets tougher,” he said. “It’s one those things, you just have to put your mouthpiece in tight, do it for the team and, hopefully, it doesn’t go bad.”

Eric Branch is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ebranch@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Eric_Branch

Reception kings

Most NFL catches since 2013: