This week, FS1's Colin Cowherd called Jimmy Garoppolo the "most underrated player in the NFL by a mile" while expressing confusion regarding the lack of trade interest in the San Francisco 49ers quarterback. However, that doesn't mean the host of The Herd isn't confident in Garoppolo's successor and last year's No. 3 overall pick, Trey Lance.

Cowherd shared the following four reasons why Lance should succeed with San Francisco. He briefly touched on the first three before spending more time on the fourth.


Kyle Shanahan's system


"Number one: Kyle Shanahan's system works for everybody," Cowherd said. "Matt Ryan was an MVP. Matt Schaub was a Pro Bowler. It works for everybody."

49ers roster


"Secondly, the Niners' roster is a Super Bowl roster," Cowherd shared. "Two of the last three [seasons], they've been in the conference championship."

QB-friendly system


You could probably lump this into reason No. 1, but Cowherd made a point to list it separately.

"Three: It's a quarterback-friendly but not a quarterback-dependent system," Cowherd said. "It eases you in."

Lance's elite traits


The final reason is the one that Cowherd spent the most time discussing. While he likes Lance's traits, there is one thing the FS1 host believes the second-year quarterback needs to work on.


"Four: size, smarts, mobility, athleticism—he's got a lot of traits," Cowherd explained. "He checks a lot of boxes. The one he doesn't—accurate thrower of the football. It's not pretty. He's completing like 57 percent of his throws. Can he get to 62-and-a-half? Then you can make it.

"My guess on Trey Lance: he'll be the third-best quarterback in his division this year. It will go Kyler Murray, Matt Stafford—or Matt Stafford, Kyler Murray, and Trey Lance. That's fine in a quarterback's first year of playing. You don't want that to be a trait for seven years. Kyler Murray's not going anywhere, and Matt Stafford [isn't].

"And [the dilemma would still exist] if they drafted Mac Jones. Mac Jones would be the third-best quarterback in their division. So when I hear, 'Kyle Shanahan wanted Mac Jones,' well, Mac Jones, Justin Fields, Trey Lance would all be the third-best quarterback in that division."

Cowherd adds that Lance needs to get to the point where he can throw an accurate football with ease, like Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals, Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers, and many others.

"I don't think he'll be a superstar," Cowherd said of Lance. "I think he will be the third-best quarterback in the division for the foreseeable future, and that is not perfect."




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