NBC Sports' Peter King recently said quarterback Trey Lance could be as good, if not better, in 2022 as Jimmy Garoppolo was in 2021. That has the longtime writer believing in the San Francisco 49ers being a contender next season.
"No question about it," King told NBC Sports Bay Area. "I think they've got a chance to get as far or farther next year than they got this year."
ESPN's post-Super Bowl power rankings support that thought. Even with a quarterback transition, the 49ers should once again be among the best teams in the league.
Still, fans knew what the 49ers had in Garoppolo—a serviceable quarterback with whom you can win football games but not necessarily a quarterback who can consistently carry an offense. Who knows what the 49ers have in Lance? All the tools seem to be there, though. San Francisco must be confident in what they have seen during practices and inside the quarterback room to be willing to part ways with last year's starter.
As a rookie, Lance started just two games, completing 57.7 percent of his pass attempts for 603 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions. ESPN has the 49ers sitting at No. 6 within its first power ranking of the offseason.
Surprisingly, the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams do not sit in the top spot. That honor belongs to the Kansas City Chiefs. They are followed by the Buffalo Bills, then the Rams, Green Bay Packers, and Cincinnati Bengals.
Preparing Lance to start is the 49ers' biggest offseason priority.
"He needs to have a great offseason, not a good offseason. He needs to have a great offseason," King recently told 95.7 The Game.
But that's not the only offseason requirement. The 49ers brain trust needs to continue building around their young quarterback. That way, when there are growing pains—and there will be—the team can carry its young signal-caller.
"There's going to be ups and downs," Lance admitted. "No one's perfect. I definitely don't come in expecting to be perfect, but I definitely need to be ready to go for [my teammates] because those guys, I truly believe and trust and know those guys are going to be ready to go."
ESPN's Nick Wagoner believes the offseason should be about setting Lance up for success in 2022.
"That means maximizing the return in a likely Jimmy Garoppolo trade, keeping key players like guard Laken Tomlinson and giving Lance a definitive plan on what to work on when away from the facility," wrote Wagoner. "Although he made two starts last season, there are no guarantees on how he'll fare as the full-time starter. This is the time for the Niners to do what they can to ease his transition."