Trey Lance showed why he’s the threat the 49ers have never had under Kyle Shanahan

Kyle Shanahan might have finally found the quarterback he was looking for.

Times are changing for the 49ers and they finally got a truly promising look into the future on Sunday.

Trey Lance, who the Niners traded multiple first round picks for prior to the 2021 NFL Draft, got the second start of his career against the Texans and he showed all the traits that made him a coveted prospect coming out of North Dakota State.

It’s rather obvious what the 49ers were attempting to do with the selection of Lance: pivot from the previous quarterback archetypes they’ve trotted out under Kyle Shanahan. Jimmy Garoppolo is obviously the best of the bunch, but along with C.J. Beathard, Brian Hoyer and Nick Mullens the 49ers have opted for guys who can function within Shanahan’s offense, even if they aren’t extending the limits of the offense.

That can change with Lance, who got the start against the Texans due to an injury to Garoppolo — just Lance’s third full game as a starter since 2019. Hiccups and bumps are to be expected.

So are the big plays that his athleticism can bring. Recent history in the NFL shows that a rocket arm and legitimate running ability can get young quarterbacks pretty far. Lance, in his second career start, tested the limits of his own physical ability in ways that none of the other aforementioned quarterbacks have.

11.5 air yards per attempt, whew.

Throwing the ball deep doesn’t guarantee good offense, but this is a noticeable shift from the way the 49ers have operated in recent seasons. According to NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Garoppolo averaged 6.2 air yards per attempt in 2020 and is averaging 7.4 this year.

Obviously, Lance won’t be averaging so many air yards per attempt each week whenever he fully becomes the starting quarterback, but the 49ers got a glimpse at what a more physically threatening quarterback can do.

Where his arm strength helps is when he’s under duress. Lance was ripping lasers all over the field, but now the 49ers can still play on time when plays start to get muddy or break down.

Pressure in his face and backing up from an incoming defender? No problem, he can just use the bazooka attached to his right shoulder to make sure his receiver still has time to catch the ball as he briefly extends the play.

When Lance was seeing the field well and playing within the rhythm of the 49ers passing game, he had some beautiful, quick passes that also showed off his ridiculous arm strength.

Not only does the extra speed on the ball help him throw in tight windows, it allows his receivers to get the ball in their hand and start moving upfield before defensive backs can close down in coverage and make tackles at the catch point. These aren’t the most difficult plays in the world to execute, but it’s a flashy reminder of what can happen when brains and brawn start to come together for a young passer.

And of course, it wouldn’t be a big time performance from a Shanahan quarterback without a big chunk play on a deep crosser way down the field.

Lance wasn’t perfect, though. If there’s one element the young passer can add to his game it’s creating a Plan B when Plan A isn’t there or available. He has the athleticism to be a menace on the “second play” that defenses have to account for, but he’s going to need more and more in-game reps before that becomes second nature for him.

Sometimes, he can stick a little too close to the script. Including the interception he threw on a “leak” concept earlier in the game against the Texans. This play is usually going to leave a receiver wide open down the field for a huge gain, but the Texans were on full alert for where this pass was going.

Can’t throw that pass, but rust has to be expected for someone who has started only three football games since the end of the 2019 college football season. The more in-game reps he can get, the better it will be for him and the 49ers as they enter the 2022 season with Lance as the starting quarterback.

The book on Trey Lance isn’t written in either direction, obviously considering he has two starts in the NFL, but his game against the Texans was very promising and should have 49ers fans excited about the ceiling of this passing game moving forward.

[mm-video type=video id=01frf28c1zf4kx0r4mj8 playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01frf28c1zf4kx0r4mj8/01frf28c1zf4kx0r4mj8-436f73d22eba0a7dc9960d3cd45ed4cc.jpg]

[listicle id=1375556]