The San Francisco 49ers have seen two significant quarterback headlines emerge over the offseason: the impressive return of Brock Purdy ahead of schedule and the intense battle between Trey Lance for the backup role.
Within those topics, there's been much debate regarding who the best option is, with several national and local media members sharing their opinions.
Training camp didn't exactly provide a clearer indication, as both quarterbacks saw their shares of ups and downs, with Lance having some of the highest and lowest days, and Darnold being more consistent, but seeing some ugly performances as well.
Overall, I had Lance as the top backup coming into camp, given the better understanding of the offense, as Darnold acknowledging in minicamp that he was still continuing to grasp and rep the playbook, and my analysis remained the same afterwards, as I thought the former played better overall than the latter.
It appears a certain 49ers insider feels a similar way, pointing out that Lance looks better than Darnold currently.
"I gotta say, I think that Trey Lance looks better, and that's not a big news flash." NBC Sports's Matt Maiocco said on the latest episode of the "49ers Talk" podcast. "He looks better than he has since he's been with the 49ers. But I think he looks better than Sam Darnold."
What has impressed Maiocco in regards to Trey Lance and his development?
It's been the decisiveness, which is a clear difference between the two quarterbacks, and was showcased on a two-minute drill to end Thursday's joint practice against the Las Vegas Raiders.
"I think that what impresses me about Trey is that it looks like he's very decisive. He knows where he's going with the football. He led a really good two-minute drill at the end of practice, and he was completing passes, he and [WR] Jauan Jennings. They hooked up on a lot."
However, giving Lance the edge doesn't mean that Darnold has been far off, although the decisiveness, or lack of, has stood out.
"But with Sam Darnold, in making that Sam Darnold, Trey Lance comparison, I've seen kind of similar things with Sam Darnold," Maiocco continued. "There were a couple of plays, even on seven-on-seven, where he wasn't decisive. He doesn't know exactly where he's going with the football on time."
Maiocco believes that Darnold has made strides during camp, but acknowledged that his entire arsenal hasn't been put to display yet, given the issues with decisiveness.
"I asked Kyle Shanahan about that afterward, and he said that he's happy with where Sam Darnold is. I don't know if he would say, 'Oh my God, are you kidding? Oh, what a disappointment.' I don't think he'd say that. But he did say that he has made a lot of strides from the first couple of days of training camp."
"But I still think when you talk about Sam Darnold, I don't know that we've seen all of the physical tools that he brings to the table. We've seen a lot of them. He can throw the football, but I kind of feel like he's kind of thinking his way through it as well."
Maiocco shared a different sentiment to me, believing that Darnold had a slight edge to begin camp, but agreed on the fact that Lance has slightly edged out his fellow peer thus far.
"I think when training camp started, I would have given a slight edge to Sam Darnold," Maiocco said. "Now I think I'm giving a slight edge to Trey Lance."
Another important factor? The process, which is integral to Kyle Shanahan and the coaching staff, looks natural, which could open other teams' eyes on the development he's made thus far.
"I think that with Trey Lance, too, it looks more natural," Maiocco said. "It looks more like he knows where the football should go and he's delivering it more accurately. So we'll see on Sunday. A lot of things in this game won't matter. But I do think, with those quarterbacks, it does matter, because every team will be able to see this, and every team will be able to see how decisive he is and how he's picking up the system and how accurate he is."
In training camp, Darnold's indecisiveness was the main gripe I had with his play, as the arm talent was there, but appeared limited at times since the quarterback wouldn't process as quickly, leading to egregious sacks and longer plays.
While Lance had his inconsistencies, the better end to training camp and the overall body of work throughout the offseason gave him the edge in my book.