If the San Francisco 49ers could turn back the hands of time to the 2021 NFL draft, they probably would stand pat and draft Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields. But they didn’t. And not only did they trade up to draft North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance, thus far the signal-caller doesn’t look like he can play at the NFL level. While he hasn’t had a ton of opportunities due to injuries and playing behind former Niners QB Jimmy Garoppolo, Lance just doesn’t look the part.
With the aforementioned Fields showing promise last season with the Bears, and with new weaponry in Chicago in the form of D.J. Moore at receiver this season, the expectancy is for Fields to take the next step in his development. As for Lance, this preseason is huge for him in regard to his future in San Francisco. Lance’s statline of 10-for-15 passing for 112 yards and one touchdown over the weekend are very misleading. In the game the Las Vegas Raiders dropped two easy interceptions, and another ended up in a Niners player’s hands for his lone touchdown.
Lance’s effort and lack of understanding the offense had ESPN NFL analyst Marcus Spears talking heavy on Monday’s episode of “First Take.”
Spears Went In On The Niners For Trading Up To Get Lance
“The 49ers got a terrible situation on their hands with this Trey Lance. This may go down as one of the worst trades in the draft in the history of the NFL. The fortunate point is Kyle Shanahan has done such a phenomenal job of getting his team ready to play and being so creative offensively that it hasn’t shown in the win-loss column. But you lost a lot by going up to get Trey Lance.”
The Niners have one of the most QB-friendly offenses in the league, and if Lance can’t beat out journeyman Sam Darnold and 2022’s final pick of the draft Brock Purdy, he may not be cut out to be a starter in the league.
Lance Lacks Experience At Every Level
In his football career Lance hasn’t thrown the football much. In fact, as of Saturday the 2021 No. 3 overall pick has attempted 591 passes. That includes high school, college and the pros.
So, it’s not all his fault, and most of the blame for this falls on the Niners for believing they were doing something by trading up to take him with a much more proven Fields right there in their original draft slot.
As Spears stated, that move is looking worse and worse each season, and with Lance not likely to move up beyond the third-string job it looks even worse in 2023.
