30 Apr trey to the bay! what to expect from the rook

With the third pick in the NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers select: TREY LANCE, QB, NDSU!

I try to maintain professionalism when typing articles, but holy cow am I ecstatic that Trey Lance is the man. This was MY GUY! John Chapman was all over Lance long before anyone, but you guys best believe I was right on his tail supporting Lance all the way. Trey Lance has been the guy since January.

Baffling to say the least. While the smoke was FLYING in regard to Mac Jones and Justin Fields, Trey Lance had flown under the radar for months. I had always thought the pick was Lance due to his sheer intelligence, athletic ability, and his charisma that draws in his teammates.

So, what can we expect? It’s already being debated whether or not Lance should be the day 1 starter. With Garoppolo still on the roster, this muddies up the picture just a bit. However, I feel that Garoppolo will either be traded during the draft at some point, or the team will move on from him down the road. I don’t mind if Jimmy is the starter when the season starts, but I feel that Lance has all the tools and intelligence needed to be the solidified QB1 for the season.

If (and hopefully when) that is the case, I think expectations for Lance as the starter should be tempered a bit, but still hold him to a high standard. Lance can definitely be a 30 total TD, less than 10 INT kind of guy. He’s shown that he’s a very decisive thrower who knows where to go with the ball, as his 1 career college INT reflects. While he does have some lower body mechanics that need to be refined, he is the closest thing to come in terms of a complete QB.

Lance has the natural strength to throw the ball where it needs to go. Whether that’s short, intermediate, deep, far hash, in breaking routes, etc., Lance can do it all. While many argue that his accuracy is an issue, I do not think it is as bad as people make it. Lance, when compared to the other first round QBs in this draft class, has the lowest measured accuracy. However, his 65% career accuracy mark is respectable. Josh Allen in comparison, was a 56% passer in college. Now THAT is an ugly number.

Lance’s film shows he’s got the arm talent to get the ball anywhere he wants, with ease as well. While I do not think he is as fluid of a thrower as Fields or Wilson are, Lance can still make any throw he needs to. This is something that should excite Kyle Shanahan to the max.

Kyle Shanahan is likely drooling at the idea that he can dust off the other half of his playbook that he hasn’t seen in years due to QB limitations. Garoppolo, Mullens, Beathard, Hoyer, these guys do not have anywhere near the talent or ability that Lance does to make throws to all levels of the field.

So, with that being said, I think Lance is primed to win offensive ROTY. He’s stepping into a system that features solid receivers all around, a top-5 rushing attack, and the best offensive play caller in the NFL. He’ll go through his lumps and bruises as he develops into a star, but for now, I think all of us can expect VERY good things out of Lance, not just now, but for years to come as well.