ESPN analyst Sam Acho recently said a rivalry might be brewing between San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback Trey Lance and Chicago Bears rookie Justin Fields. The 49ers passed on Fields, instead selecting Lance with the No. 3 overall pick, and trading away future capital to do so. As a result, Fields fell to the Bears at No. 11.
Acho said the Lance-Fields rivalry could one day compare to that of Tom Brady versus Peyton Manning. That is some high praise for both rookies.
However, neither Lance nor Fields were the most popular pick for the 49ers' selection at No. 3 in the month leading to the draft. That distinction belongs to Mac Jones, who eventually landed with the New England Patriots at No. 15. Jones will be the Patriots' Week 1 starter after the team released veteran Cam Newton this morning.
Maybe the Lance-Jones comparison is more worthy of monitoring for years to come.
Going to be fascinating to compare SF & NE for the next decade. Shanahan embraced future (Trey Lance adding new/diff skill set) over familiar (Mac Jones similar player/style to Matt Ryan/Kirk Cousins). NE chose familiar with Mac Jones play style matching Brady's.
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) August 31, 2021
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero certainly thinks so. The Patriots offense is Jones' to run now. He is the hopeful heir apparent to Tom Brady in New England.
"Quarterbacks within a draft class are inevitably linked together, and think about the links that you now have between Trey Lance and the guy who was most-linked to the 49ers during the pre-draft process in Mac Jones," Pelissero said on Good Morning Football. "The 49ers originally had the 12th overall pick. They dealt that pick, a third-round compensatory pick, and two future first-rounders to go up to No. 3 and get Trey Lance, who now is currently alongside former Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo."
The selection of Lance over others was never about who was better at this point in their development. The former North Dakota State Bison quarterback was widely seen as the player with a higher ceiling. Head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch coveted Lance because of his future potential and not because they felt he was more ready now. Had the latter been true, the team probably would not have held onto Jimmy Garoppolo and his $24.1 million due in 2021.
The 49ers have a championship-caliber roster in place. While Shanahan has yet to officially name Garoppolo as the Week 1 starter, he is expected to be the choice. Garoppolo knows the offense best, and the coach probably feels the veteran gives the team its best chance to rack up the most wins.
"I get spending the draft picks to get a young quarterback, and you've got to do what's right for that guy too," Shanahan said on Monday. "And what I think has been tough on Trey is he didn't get to play football all last [season, save one game]. So, regardless of what happens, I'm always trying to make sure Trey doesn't go a whole other year without playing football.
"We're going to make sure we do what's best for him, getting him reps on the practice field, hopefully in games too, and we'll see how this all pans out. But my order of thinking always starts with what's best for this organization and what gives this organization its best chance to win. And then after that, I'm always thinking of the individual."
Still, many will keep an eye on what Jones does in New England, and compare him to the 49ers rookie.
"The Patriots stood pat at No. 15. Mac Jones fell to them," Pelissero added. "So the trajectory of these two quarterbacks with different types of skillsets but lots of the same traits in terms of their makeup, their football IQ, those two are going to be watched side-by-side for a long time."