After an unimpressive rookie season where he was unable to unseat Jimmy Garoppolo for the starting job, Trey Lance is looking good heading into year 2. Very good, as the reports are indicating.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans admitted that it’s been “tough” to defend him in practice. He praised Lance for putting the ball in the right place and making good throws with the deep ball.
“Defending him has been tough. He’s putting the ball on the money. The accuracy is there. The deep ball is there. I’m excited for Trey. He’s setting himself up to have a really good season for us,” Ryans said.
49ers fans are loving that statement from Ryans for pretty obvious reasons. The gloating has begun and the hype train around Lance is quickly getting into gear:
The 49ers traded an arm and a leg to move up in the 2021 NFL Draft and take Trey Lance No. 3 overall. In return, they got just six games and two starts out of him as a rookie.
Lance went 1-1 as a starter with 603 passing yards and five touchdowns. He was inactive or didn’t play for 10 of the final 12 games.
But he hasn’t won the starting quarterback job yet either. And until he does, people are going to be hard-pressed to accept that he’s as good as his coaches say he is.
Will Trey Lance take a big leap forward in 2022?