There was a lot of speculation that the San Francisco 49ers were targeting quarterback Mac Jones after trading up to the No. 3 overall pick. Head coach Kyle Shanahan's admiration of Kirk Cousins helped to ignite those rumors.
In the end, the 49ers selected Trey Lance out of North Dakota State, a prospect widely viewed as having more upside thanks to his versatility. The only concern seems to be Lance's inexperience. Shanahan acknowledged that he liked Jones and Justin Fields, but Lance had been the favorite since January.
"I do laugh at ... that everyone thinks that they know exactly what I want at quarterback because I thought we had a chance to get the number one free agent quarterback (Cousins) who was going to be on the market in our second year," Shanahan told Kawakami of The Athletic on "The TK Show" (h/t NBC Sports Bay Area).
The 49ers believe they made the right decision in drafting Lance, and Shanahan is excited about what his young quarterback might bring to the offense. Jones ended up falling to the Patriots at No. 15.
According to ESPN reporter Mike Reiss, the Patriots may also end up being grateful for the 49ers' selection. In a feature asking which AFC East team has the best three-year outlook, Reiss picked the Buffalo Bills. However, he added the following regarding the Patriots' rookie quarterback (h/t to Nick Kosco of 247 Sports).
"I believe the Patriots will be sending a big thank-you note to the San Francisco 49ers for passing on Jones with the No. 3 overall draft pick," wrote Reiss. "He slid all the way to New England at No. 15 and has made a strong first impression on coaches and players. If he emerges as the quarterback of the future as the Patriots believe he can, New England's three-year outlook could threaten Buffalo's."
Meanwhile, Lance has impressed teammates and coaches himself. Jimmy Garoppolo is expected to be the 49ers' starting quarterback come Week 1 of the regular season. That will allow the rookie more time to sit and learn the offense.
"Trey's a good quarterback," tight end George Kittle recently said. "I'm excited to see the progression that he makes. He's a hell of an athlete. Just being in OTAs with him, he's a guy that wants to learn every single day. He's competitive every single day. He doesn't let mistakes stop him. Nothing snowballs."
Respected beat reporter Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area also praised Lance's offseason progress.
"He might be the only person since I've been covering the team, which is about a quarter of a (century), that from one week of OTAs to the next week, you could actually see the improvement," Maiocco recently said during a radio interview. "The first week we went out there and he just kind of seemed to be a little bit unsure of himself, a tick slow. The ball was sailing high. You could tell there was just a lot going on in his head. And in the next week, he went out there and you could tell -- he was directing traffic, moving guys from spot A to spot B, and he threw the ball a little bit more accurately. It's not often that you see a dramatic change that you can see with your naked eye."
Added Maiocco: "You could actually see him growing and learning. He's putting in the time. I'm not ready to stamp his ticket to Canton or anything, but so far he is certainly the guy they thought he would be from a character standpoint, a work ethic standpoint. Then it doesn't take long to see the physical tools as well."