Schefter: 49ers believe Trey Lance is ‘closer to playing this season’ than Mac Jones

Adam Schefter is among those who spearheaded the rampant speculation that the San Francisco 49ers were likely to select Mac Jones of Alabama. Of course, along the way, he acknowledged that was speculation based on what he heard from around the league.

No one outside of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch knew what the team's decision-makers were thinking. Schefter repeatedly made that clear.

One of the criticisms of Lance was the former Bison's inexperience. The 49ers kept Jimmy Garoppolo, and the plan is for the veteran to be the team's starter for the upcoming season. If Lance doesn't play, that means the rookie will have missed nearly the entirety of two consecutive seasons, with his last in-game action being in a non-conference game on October 3.

The Niners don't seem worried about the lack of playing time. In fact, they feel their newest quarterback may be more prepared to play than most think.

"Here's the other ironic part, is that they believe that Trey Lance is closer to playing this season than Mac Jones was," Schefter said on the Underdogapalooza podcast with Josh Norris and others. "Like, a lot of people thought, 'Whoa, Mac Jones is smart. He's ready to play right away.' Actually, the 49ers felt that Trey Lance was ahead of where Mac Jones was and that he is more ready to play.

"People have these certain perceptions, and the Niners felt that Trey Lance was the smartest quarterback in this draft and the most ready to play right away. Now, we'll see how this plays out, right?"

While Garoppolo is expected to be the starter in 2021, Shanahan would welcome competition between the two quarterbacks.

"I want Jimmy to be here, and I want this kid to be brought along," Shanahan told reporters last week after the 49ers drafted Lance. "I want to see how he does. And if it turns into a competition, it turns into a competition. I'd be excited about that, if he showed he was ready for it and stuff."