One of the big San Francisco 49ers storylines heading into the 2021 season is the No. 3 overall draft pick, Trey Lance. How much will the rookie quarterback play? Right now, the plan is to have Jimmy Garoppolo start. How long will that last, though?
Garoppolo is 24-9 as the 49ers' starting quarterback. However, he has made it out of September injury-free just once as a starter. Garoppolo missed 23 games over the past three seasons, with his lone full season as a starter coming in 2019. San Francisco did pretty well that year, making it to Super Bowl LIV.
What if Lance has a superb training camp? While head coach
Kyle Shanahan admits he wouldn't be against starting a rookie, he doesn't expect a first-year passer to beat out Garoppolo.
"Jimmy is a very good player," Shanahan said last month. "He's not just coming in trying to beat out a guy who hasn't done it before. When Jimmy's played, he's played at a very high level."
For now, the plan is for Lance to be Garoppolo's backup and understudy, using the time to master Shanahan's extensive playbook. However, some believe fans could see Lance on the football field sooner than expected.
NFL Network's Gregg Rosenthal wouldn't be shocked to see Lance as the 49ers' Week 1 starter. Others feel Garoppolo will start in that first game, but Lance could take over earlier than expected. Jenny Vrentas, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, falls into that group. A fan recently asked her if other NFC West teams would rather face Garoppolo or Lance.
"The longer Jimmy Garoppolo starts, the longer Trey Lance needs to get ready, and that's certainly the scenario NFC West foes are hoping for,"
Vrentas responded in a mailbag article. "But I have a hunch we'll see Lance sooner than expected."
The perception is that there is a steep learning curve for Lance, who had limited collegiate experience and hasn't played since October 3, 2020. That was his only game since the Division I Football Championship nine months earlier.
"A lot has been made about Lance's needing time to make the jump from his 17 starts at North Dakota State to the NFL," Vrentas continued, "and keeping Garoppolo gives the 49ers that flexibility not to force Lance into the lineup. But another North Dakota State QB was also expected to sit his rookie year, and Carson Wentz ended up being the Week 1 starter for the Eagles in 2016."
Lance's potential in Shanahan's offense excites analysts. The coach has faith that the versatile quarterback can beat opponents with both his arm and his legs. In 2019, Lance passed for 2,786 yards with 28 touchdowns and no interceptions while adding 1,100 rushing yards and 14 trips into the end zone on 169 carries.
Added Vrentas: "The sooner Lance plays in San Francisco, the sooner it means that he is ready (barring other circumstances, such as an injury opening the door), and so are the new possibilities his versatile abilities can unlock in Kyle Shanahan's offense."
The San Francisco 49ers announced the signing of wide receiver Trent Taylor to a one-year deal, reuniting with the team's former fifth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area was the first to report that the 49ers were discussing a potential reunion with Taylor. The receiver was part of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's first draft class in 2017 and spent his first four NFL seasons with the team.
The #49ers are talking with free-agent slot receiver/return man
The San Francisco 49ers are hosting several draft prospects this week as the deadline for pre-draft visits draws near. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, the team will host former Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley on Wednesday.
Corley is expected to be a Day 2 pick. San Francisco owns two selections on Day 2—the No. 63 overall pick in the second round and the No. 94 overall pick in the third round. Currently, the receiver is visiting with the Seattle Seahawks.
Western Kentucky @WKUFootball receiver Malachi Worley
Ian Rapoport didn't offer much of an update on the ongoing contract negotiations between the San Francisco 49ers and their standout wide receiver, Brandon Aiyuk. However, the NFL insider emphasized one thing: The team is not entertaining trade discussions at this juncture.
Reacting to Aiyuk's decision to unfollow the 49ers on Instagram, Rapoport couldn't help but chuckle at the latest development. This practice has become commonplace among players who are unhappy with their contract situations. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel similarly took this action in 2022 before requesting to be traded just before the draft.
Things have yet to escalate that far with Aiyuk, but Rapoport sees his
Analyst Dane Brugler recently revealed his seven-round mock draft for The Athletic, forecasting all 257 selections in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft, set to kick off next week.
"Piecing together a mock like this is time consuming, but I enjoy the exercise, because it allows me to focus on each team's needs, organizational trends and prospect-team pairings that make sense based on '30' visits, league buzz and overall interest," Brugler wrote.
Most expect the 49ers to address the trenches early in the draft, and Brugler has the team doing that. It's just not on the offensive side of the football. In fact, Brugler doesn't have San Francisco
