Trey Lance is adding a new level of excitement surrounding the San Francisco 49ers. Not necessarily for this season—although some will argue that wouldn't be the worst thing—but for the team's future.
One longtime 49ers reporter, Matt Barrows of The Athletic, has been keeping a close eye on the team's top two quarterbacks during training camp. While Jimmy Garoppolo remains slated to be the starter come Week 1, Lance is making a strong case that he may be ahead of schedule in his development. The rookie quarterback—the No. 3 overall pick in this year's draft—has been the most intriguing of the four quarterbacks on the practice field, and it's not even close.
Barrows recently joined the No Huddle Podcast and was asked about Garoppolo's training camp performance so far. It hasn't been bad by any means. However, the reporter's description leads one to believe that it also hasn't been as impressive as general manager John Lynch recently let on when he told ESPN's Adam Schefter that Garoppolo is playing "his best football since he's been here."
Barrows' assessment of the veteran quarterback sounds very different.
"He's looked like Jimmy Garoppolo, which is he's been efficient, he's good at the short stuff, he's got the quick release," Barrows told Al Sacco this week. "He had a really nice pass [on Tuesday] to George Kittle deep in the red zone where he rolled right, slipped the ball to Kittle on the run so Kittle could continue his momentum, and it took him right into the end zone. That's what he's good at, the sort of short, intermediate stuff.
"And he also throws the 'Oh, what are you doing?' pass every now and then. There was a really good example of that—I forget what day it was—maybe it was the third day of training camp where he was surveying the field, he looked downfield, he hesitated, and then he decided, 'OK, I better go for this. This guy is wide open.'
"I think it was Deebo Samuel who was well down the field. And I knew, and everyone standing around me knew that he just did not have the arm to get it down there. And I think he probably knew it too. And to no one's surprise, it kind of fluttered in the air and was well short, and Jason Verrett picked it off for a very easy interception."
That brings us to Lance. Barrows uses another example from training camp to properly explain the difference between Garoppolo and his eventual successor, and what it might mean for Shanahan's always evolving offense.
"Lance does almost the same thing on a throw to Deebo Samuel, but he's got enough of [an arm] to get it all the way downfield," Barrows shared. "It wasn't a great ball, the one that I'm thinking of. It should have actually been picked off by Jared Mayden, but it was close enough where Mayden mistimed his leap and Samuel caught it, and ran in for a touchdown.
"That's a significant difference between those two guys. One is that Garoppolo doesn't always pull the trigger on that. He'd rather not, and everyone and their brother has noticed that he doesn't throw deep, and he doesn't like to throw outside the numbers deep, certainly.
"Lance has no qualms about doing that. He's got no reservations. He drives the ball deep, goes down the sideline quite a bit. That's really been the most surprising (thing)."
Barrows used the word "surprising" but nearly used another word to describe Lance's training camp throws.
"I was about to say 'astonishing,' and I think that's a good word," Barrows continued. "He's a rookie. We know the track record of how little he played in college (17 career starts), but he's come into training camp with a boldness that sort of defies that very scant college background that he has. ... He hasn't acted like a lost baby deer in the woods.
"He's been really aggressive, and his offensive play-caller—happens to be the head coach—is the same way. So, I've got to think that this beginning to training camp has pleased Kyle Shanahan to no end because he sees that aggression."
Barrows notes that everything he said only touched on Lance's ability as a passer. The quarterback has shown that he can frustrate opposing defenses with his legs too. That adds a whole different dynamic to Shanahan's offense, which is bad news for the rest of the NFL.
You can listen to the entire interview below.