Did San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback Trey Lance disappoint on Saturday night against the Kansas City Chiefs? Lance earned the lowest overall grade from Pro Football Focus for his NFL debut among the first five quarterbacks drafted in April.
But that throw. Wow.
In the first quarter, Lance got the fans at Levi's Stadium excited by rolling to the left and then throwing deep down the opposite side of the field to wide receiver Trent Sherfield for the 80-yard touchdown. That has the fanbase hyped about the future.
General manager John Lynch joined "The TK Show" on Monday and shared his thoughts on Lance's NFL debut.
"It was fun. It really was," Lynch told Tim Kawakami of The Athletic. "[There] was a lot of anticipation for that. You make that bold of a move (in the draft), you're obviously excited to see that player go out there and do it, somewhat for real. It's not a regular-season game, but we're putting the pads on."
Lynch admits that the whole evening was emotional for everyone. For Lance, it was his first time in front of fans since January 11, 2020. For members of The Faithful, it was their first time inside Levis Stadium in nearly as long.
"It was so welcome to have the fans back, to be able to have that excitement for our team," Lynch said. "But specifically for Trey, I think we had that same excitement."
Lance had moments—like the touchdown pass—that made you understand why the 49ers traded a haul of future picks to move up to select the quarterback No. 3 overall.
"Thought [Jimmy Garoppolo] did a really nice job as he's done this entire offseason," Lynch continued. "And then Trey got out there and made a couple of plays. There was a drop early from (Brandon) Aiyuk. He had a drop when he extended a play.
"Then came the big play—80 yarder. And he's been doing a lot of that at practice, Trey has. And so has Trent Sherfield."
In the end, though, Lance completed just five of his 14 pass attempts for 128 yards and was sacked four times.
Lance was coming off a strong training camp, and there was a lot of buzz surrounding the rookie's debut. The coaches have praised the quarterback's work to correct certain mechanics and improve the fundamentals. Lance reported to training camp a much better quarterback than when he left organized team activities in mid-June.
Did the rookie have a setback against the Chiefs?
"I think the thing that has impressed us with Trey is his poise, his presence," Lynch shared. "He's a very poised athlete. Obviously, you don't pick a guy that high if he doesn't have the goods. He's a natural passer. He moves very well. He does a lot of things well. But you want to see, OK, when the lights come on, how's he going to respond, and I think it was a mixed bag.
"He obviously made some plays. He showed his arm talent. He did all those things well. I think Kyle (Shanahan) mentioned it, and you can see it on the tape, and Kyle and I watch a lot of things together, and we did (watch Trey). A lot of the strides he's made in terms of some of the fundamental things that we've asked him to work on, he reverted a little."
There's no reason to sound the alarms, though. Keep in mind, Lance is 21 years old and just played in his first NFL game. It was also his first real action since October 3, 2020, his only game in the last 19 months.
"And that's not reason for panic. It's a natural thing," Lynch said. "It happens to a lot of players. ... To be able to recognize that, coach it, and say, 'The end result was pretty good but look how much better it can be.' Now, he has tangible things to work on, and I think those things are invaluable. And that goes for any player, not just Trey Lance."
Lynch's comments show the potential the 49ers see in their young quarterback. However, they also acknowledge that Lance still has a lot to work on.
The general manager also confirmed that the plan is still to have Garoppolo start Week 1. That has not changed. Garoppolo will be on the roster when the 49ers travel to Detroit to play the Lions on September 12.
Added Lynch: "While there were some good things out there, we were playing against a really good roster in the Chiefs, and they played a lot of their starters, but I think our overall assessment [is] it was a good effort, it wasn't a championship effort. We need to be sharper. We need to be tighter. We need to rely on the things we train at practice."
