Louis Riddick has high expectations for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance. The ESPN analyst has been high on the former North Dakota State star for a while now, saying before last year's draft that he expects Lance to have an "All-Pro, legendary type of career." Riddick also saw the 49ers as a good fit for the young quarterback.
If you're the 49ers GM, who do you take with the No. 3 overall pick?@LRiddickESPN: "Trey Lance in particular, of all these quarterbacks, I think is the guy. Especially within the context of this kind of offense... could have an All-Pro, legendary type of career." pic.twitter.com/gtP07Qtyeb
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) April 15, 2021
A year later, with Lance headed toward his first NFL season as a starter with those Niners, nothing has changed. Riddick would put his money on Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes to win MVP during the upcoming season. However, he can understand why more money has been bet on Lance to win the annual honor than Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers combined.
"I loved Trey Lance," Riddick said on ESPN. "I got a chance to go up there to his pro day at North Dakota State and meet him, talk to him, watch him throw. I thought, coming out in the draft a few years ago, that Atlanta's offense, run by Arthur Smith, or this offense that's he's in now, run by Kyle Shanahan, were the two best fits for this young man because of the fact that it looks exactly like what he ran at North Dakota State.
"If he can clean up his decision-making and his accuracy, the kind of things that Kyle would be able to do to scheme people open with the use of the play-action pass ... he will be the best dual-threat quarterback in the NFL. He will be because he's 6-4, 220 pounds, and he can throw the ball a mile, and he can throw it with accuracy, and he can make all the throws that you need him to make, especially in the context of an offense that he's familiar with."
How soon can Lance meet Riddick's expectations? After all, the 49ers quarterback started just two games during his rookie season, only threw 71 pass attempts, and had limited collegiate experience.
"Well, Patrick Mahomes did it in his first full year as a starter," Riddick responded. "I think Trey Lance can do the same type of thing. When Patrick came out of Texas Tech, remember, people weren't thinking Patrick was going to be Patrick. No one right now really thinks Trey Lance is going to be the Trey Lance that could be MVP-worthy.
"I wouldn't bet against it, especially with that coaching staff, that system, and how familiar he is with it based off the kind of things he did at North Dakota State. I would not bet against it. Although, I'm not putting my money there."