Colin Cowherd likes Trey Lance. He feels the San Francisco 49ers quarterback can have a successful NFL career, especially working with head coach Kyle Shanahan. Cowherd believes Lance checks all but one of his boxes when it comes to the makeup of a successful passer.
What are Cowherd's four criteria points when evaluating quarterbacks in today's NFL? The first is size. Cowherd believes the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Lance meets that requirement.
"Big, strong kid," Cowherd said on his show, The Herd.
The second is athletic ability.
"Check," Cowherd said. "He may not be Kyler Murray, but he can move."
The third is personality.
"I've actually met him—check," Cowherd said. "Smart kid, good kid."
What's the fourth box that needs to be checked—the one that worries Cowherd? That would be accuracy.
"He's not a pretty thrower of the football," Cowherd explained. "Neither was Philip Rivers. He doesn't have to be, in Kyle Shanahan's system, Drew Brees. But he can't be Cam Newton. Matt Stafford's career completion percentage is 63. He won a Super Bowl. Josh Allen is [62.3]. You've got to get about there. That's it.
"Right now, he's at [57.7 percent]. Again, he's not a pretty thrower of the football. That's not the be-all, end-all. Kyler Murray, to me, throws the prettiest ball in the league. Philip Rivers threw the ugliest. Peyton Manning didn't throw a pretty football. That's, to me, the issue.
"Three of the four boxes, not only are they checked, they're above average. He's bigger than you need to be. He's more athletic than you need to be. His personality is great. Bright kid. That's not [the issue]. But the accuracy thing ... it's all about the accuracy box. And under Kyle Shanahan, you don't have to be Drew Brees or Kirk Cousins [to succeed]."