Earlier this month, NBC Sports analyst Chris Simms revealed where Trey Lance landed in his ranking of the top 40 NFL quarterbacks—at No. 31. Simms was critical of the San Francisco 49ers' second-year player, noting that Lance has the potential to succeed but has accuracy issues and hasn't developed as quickly as hoped.
"I'm not sold on the whole potential thing with Trey Lance, everybody," Simms later added. "That's why he's [ranked at] 31. ... I'm not sold on his potential. I would never draft this guy at quarterback."
For now, Jimmy Garoppolo remains on the 49ers' roster. However, that will likely change before the start of the regular season. The team tried to trade the veteran quarterback, but his undergoing shoulder surgery on March 8 halted those discussions.
Where did Garoppolo land in Simms' quarterback ranking? Exactly 11 spots ahead of his successor—at No. 20. That places him behind Baker Mayfield, Mac Jones, and Carson Wentz.
Simms explains that there is a lot to like about Garoppolo, including his leadership, quick release, and pocket presence. Garoppolo has hovered around the same spot within Simm's rankings for the past three years. He landed at No. 20 in 2020 and No. 21 in 2021.
Garoppolo being listed above Lance begs the question: If the veteran is better, why are the 49ers trying to get rid of him? Simms does not believe the 49ers should hold onto Garoppolo for the 2022 season despite his concerns surrounding Lance.
"I do think [Garoppolo] is better [than Lance] right now, for sure," Simms explained. "I do think Lance has the ability and the talent—and again, I question it still, if he can put it all together—but I think his top end, even as raw as he is right now, he has a chance to surpass a guy like Jimmy Garoppolo coming down the home stretch.
"You hope he can get to November, and we can go, 'Wait, some of those things he was really lacking in, he got better at. So some of those things we missed from Jimmy G, now we're starting to hit on them a little bit. But he's also done some other things for our offense that has opened it up and made [it] harder to defend us, even though we might not be as good at some things as we were with Jimmy Garoppolo.' I think that's where they're going to have to balance that conversation a little bit."
Simms points out the negatives in Garoppolo's game, such as imperfect mechanics, which the quarterback often overcomes. He also lacks power throws and misses on big-time plays.
That's where Lance might come in.
"Lance's skill set is going to open things in that offense to where Shanahan's not going to have to worry about that all the time," Simms continued, "going, 'I've got to find some way to trick the defense, so I can find a guy wide open over the middle.' He's just going to go, 'Wait, between our run game, Trey Lance running some balls, oh [expletive], he can throw the ball 60 yards off his back foot.' Some of those things are going to open up the offense, and it won't be so hard for Shanahan to devise things to make it easy for Lance."
Simms adds that Lance's throws might not be as efficient or effective early on. Still, the young player could surpass Garoppolo with time and experience, especially with the talented 49ers roster supporting him.
You can listen to the entire podcast below. The portion about Garoppolo and Lance starts at about the 8:30 mark.