There’s been plenty of rumors of who the San Francisco 49ers were going to take with the third overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft after acquiring the pick from the Miami Dolphins. Depending on the day it was Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, and North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance. Of course fans also had their preferences for the pick as well.
According to reports head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch kept their coaches and scouts in the dark about who the pick was.It was only learned once the selection got made.
For Lance he lands in an incredible situation. The 49ers offense has plenty of talent at running back with Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr as one of the best one-two punches in the NFL, wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel, the best tight end in the NFL in George Kittle and fullback Kyle Juszczyk. More importantly left tackle Trent Williams got re-signed.
Still what makes this situation the best for Lance is that he doesn’t need to start right away. He only played one full season of college in which he threw for 2,786 yards with 28 touchdown passes and even more impressive did not throw an interception in 287 attempts, he completed 66.9 percent of his passes. He also ran for 1,100 yards on 169 attempts and 14 touchdowns.
Lance obviously adds another dimension to Shanahan’s offense with his ability to run with the football. Yet he is raw as he only started 13 games in college. So for the 2021 season Jimmy Garoppolo will remain the starter, Josh Rosen is the no.2 and Lance is no.3
Since Lance won’t start right away he will get the opportunity to learn the intricacies of Shanahan’s offense and will get to compete for the starting job in 2022.