The 49ers won’t know whether the Trey Lance trade is a hit until he sees a pair seasons of full-time motion as a starter. Nonetheless, the 2022 NFL draft marked an early win for San Francisco’s front office of their decision to maneuver up within the 2021 draft to pick their potential franchise signal caller.
Lance went third overall in 2021 and was the third QB taken and considered one of five taken in the primary round. The 2022 draft class was widely panned in pre-draft evaluation, and the league agreed with those assessments as no QB was chosen until the twentieth overall pick. Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett was the one QB chosen in Round 1, and it took until Round 4 for the fifth QB to be chosen this yr.
Ultimately how Lance does on the sector will determine whether the move was a superb one by San Francisco. They’d their selection of all but two signal callers within the draft once they chosen third overall. The method is tough to argue with though given how this yr’s draft shook out.
The 49ers needed to take a giant swing at quarterback due to the position’s outsized importance in the game. Jimmy Garoppolo is a QB the team could win with, however the margin of error was too low. There’s a level of certainty and consistency required on the position that Garoppolo wasn’t going to offer. Simply staying the course would’ve been a troublesome sell since it will’ve required one other sizable pay day for Garoppolo either this offseason or next.
As a substitute they took the needed swing by jumping up within the 2021 draft. Waiting could’ve been a disaster given what we all know concerning the disparity within the two QB classes.
Perhaps considered one of Pickett, Desmond Ridder, Malik Willis, or one other QB from this yr winds up being a star. History in classes that shake out this manner tells us that’s impossible.
The 49ers still need Lance to start out and play well to get full marks for the move. A daring trade was what they needed though. That was clear last yr and the dramatic fall for the QBs on this yr’s draft just underscores how vital it was for San Francisco to make their move once they did.
Unanswered questions on 49ers roster after draft
