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The prevailing thought leading up to the NFL draft was that if Mac Jones was the 49ers’ pick at No. 3 overall, it would spell the end of Jimmy Garoppolo’s time in San Francisco. While it appears Garoppolo’s roster spot is safe, it sounds like he was in more danger once the team decided on Trey Lance.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter jumped on the Underdog Football Show podcast with Josh Norris and said the 49ers believe Lance is more pro-ready than any other quarterback in the class.
“They believe that Trey Lance is closer to playing this season than Mac Jones was,” Schefter said. “Like, a lot of people thought, ‘oh Mac Jones is smart, he’s ready to play right away.’ Actually the 49ers felt that Trey Lance was ahead of where Mac Jones was and he’s more ready to play. People have these certain perceptions, and the Niners felt that Trey Lance was the smartest quarterback in this draft. And the most ready to play right away.”
This throws a gargantuan wrench into what the perceived plan was. Lance’s 17 games of FCS experience and only one game in 2020 led many to believe the 49ers would take it slow and ease him into his NFL career. It sounds now like they may not take any such precautions.
We’ll have to see what Lance looks like in camp, but it now looks like there’ll at some point be a quarterback controversy in San Francisco. Especially if the team believes Lance is ready to go Week 1.