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The
Trey Lance Hype Train is racing at full speed — and probably nearly full capacity. It's amazing how a few nearly flawless practices — against the second-team defense — can influence training camp chatter.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area tried to slow down the Trey Lance Hype Train during an interview this week on KNBR. Of course, that was immediately after adding fuel to it.
The well-respected reporter has covered the 49ers for nearly three decades. Fans value Maiocco's opinion. 49ers play-by-play announcer, Greg Papa, asked Maiocco if he has ever seen a rookie quarterback as special as Lance in all of his years covering the team.
Maiocco's response was very telling.
"No, not even close. Not even close. No," Maiocco said.
It's worth noting that the 49ers haven't drafted many high-profile quarterbacks in recent years. The only one drafted in the first two rounds since Alex Smith was selected No. 1 overall in 2005 was Colin Kaepernick in 2011. Plus, we haven't even seen Lance in a preseason game yet. It's still early.
"And yes, I do want to pump the brakes," Maiocco continued. "Let's not get too carried away with it because they've only practiced in pads two days. But it's everything. He just has the right touch. He acts like a seasoned pro. He stands up there at the press conference and answers your questions. And then you go back and look at what he said, and you realize, 'Wow, he didn't say anything,' which is exactly what a quarterback should be. Look good, speak well, but really don't say a whole lot.
"The way he's been so deferential toward Jimmy Garoppolo, from what I understand, just all the work he's put in those 40 days he left the facility, he came back a better football player."
Offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel
told reporters this week that Lance spent his time off working on the fundamentals and his mechanics.
"He really put that time in,"
McDaniel said, "because we told them, 'Hey, listen, you're going to have to worry about all this other stuff (when you return),' in terms of defenses, formations, reads, all those things."
Lance took that seriously, and the coaches have been impressed with his progress. So has the media.
"He's throwing the ball accurately," Maiocco said. "He's throwing the ball with pace when it needs to be drilled in there. He's throwing it with nice touch when it needs to be. Just the last three days, I think it's been, where he's started running. Man, he just looks the part."
What happens if Sam Darnold beats out Trey Lance? We're answering this question and others in this week's edition of the 49ers Webzone Mailbag.
It's week two of OTAs, and the 49ers will have a session open to the media on Wednesday. It may even be happening as you're reading this. And Brock Purdy is believed to start throwing a ball this week (though probably not a regular football).
But for now, ignore those reports, and let's jump into our latest mailbag and answer your questions.
Who's starting on Opening Day at FS? - Chris W.
The 49ers re-signed veteran free safety Tashaun Gipson to a one-year deal and drafted Penn State safety Ji'Ayir Brown back in April. Brown is the future starting free safety. That future is most likely to
ESPN's Jeff Darlington recently appeared on the network's NFL Live show and discussed the San Francisco 49ers' quarterback situation, highlighting Trey Lance's healthy state and current workload during organized team activities (OTAs).
"Trey Lance is the guy during OTAs who's been taking all the 1st-team reps; he's healthy at this point," Darlington said, per Dov Kleiman of BroBible. "Sam Darnold really getting backup duty as he kinda gets his playbook under his belt. But for now, Trey Lance getting his opportunity with those first-team reps."
What is the takeaway from these comments? Nothing, really. We
Rohan Chakravarthi and Suneil break down the latest from Week 2 of OTAs for the San Francisco 49ers, including the quarterback rep split, offensive line talk, and John Lynch.
The audio for the show is embedded above, while the video is available below.
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You can listen to "The Rohan Chakravarthi Show" from our
New San Francisco 49ers cornerback Isaiah Oliver is coming from the Atlanta Falcons. While in the NFC South, he's faced quarterback Sam Darnold, now his teammate.
The 49ers are in their second week of organized team activities (OTAs), and Oliver has had a chance this offseason to get a good look at Darnold and third-year quarterback Trey Lance during practices. So what has he taken away from going against the two former No. 3 overall draft picks?
"I mean, they're both really good quarterbacks," Oliver told reporters on Wednesday. "Obviously, I've played against Sam a few times. I haven't played against Trey before, so just kind of seeing him [for the first time]. But yeah, they're both just real athletic guys. I feel like a lot of people don't respect that