Everyone has had five days to digest what they saw from San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback Trey Lance over the weekend. The 21-year-old passer had both highs and lows during his NFL debut on Saturday night against the Kansas City Chiefs. He showed flashes of what he could become, and he showed that there is more to work on.
"Trey Lance was a little all over the place," respected analyst Greg Cosell said on The Ross Tucker Football Podcast.
Of course, one of the highs from Lance's performance ended up being the best play of the game. It saw the young quarterback hit wide receiver Trent Sherfield on an 80-yard touchdown pass that had Lance moving to his left and then throwing down the right side of the field.
It was a thing of beauty and certainly got the fanbase excited for the future.
Cosell notes that the touchdown pass from Lance to Sherfield was a staple concept within head coach Kyle Shanahan's playbook. It's a designed play that the Niners have had in place for years, and isn't a progression-read play. Lance just executed it perfectly.
What about the overall effort by the rookie quarterback? What did the analyst see from Jimmy Garoppolo's successor throughout the game? The rookie completed just five of his 14 pass attempts for 128 yards and the touchdown. He was also sacked four times.
"Overall, I thought that he was a little unsettled," Cosell said. "He was a little quick. When the primary read was there, he was decisive. When it wasn't there, he was a little hesitant. He hurried his mechanics, and he played a little fast when he had to come off number one.
"I think he needs some work on his pace and touch throws. In this game, on some throws that required pace and touch, he was a little too much of a fastball pitcher."
You can watch the entire interview with Cosell below. The portion about Lance begins at about the 10-minute mark.
