Next week is a big one for the San Francisco 49ers. General Manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan are attending the second pro day, Justin Fields, in Ohio, QB, on Wednesday. Then they’ll see Trey throw Lance during his second pro day on April 19th.
Lynch and Shanahan will then have until April 29 to decide which newcomer QB they have with no. 3 going to have. Shanahan went to see Alabama’s Mac Jones throw four days after the Niners made a deal with the Miami Dolphins that scored the third overall pick. While Shanahan and Lynch were in Tuscaloosa, Fields’ assistant general manager Adam Peters watched Ohio State’s pro day.
San Francisco still has plenty of time to do its homework on the three QBs. Longtime NFL writer Peter King reflected on the 49ers’ QB situation in his latest column.
I was told that the team had not made a decision on who to take – I still recommend Jones – and that the next eight days would be crucial for the factual investigation.
Many NFL insiders suspect the Niners are going with Jones, but nothing is in stone. Fields and Lance can blow Lynch and Shanahan away during their pro days with an impressive performance, and the 49ers will surely keep in touch with the two QBs. NFL teams may have up to five hours of video calls with individual prospects, but they can have as many calls as they want.
King adds that the investigation report on Jones alternately led to the draft.
The Mac Jones analysis is particularly broad. He is not big for the position, at 6-2½ and 217 pounds, and he does not have a power arm or great agility. But those who love him really love him. He is extremely smart and accurate (77.4 percent in Alabama by 2020) and according to Dane Brugler of The Athletics, accurate downfield too – 58 percent on throws traveling 20 yards or more downfield, with 17 touchdowns and two interceptions. Jones, in turn, waited after Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa were able to surpass both of them to lead the NCAA in accuracy last year and pass yards (4,500). As one coach who studies the back of this post-season player told me, ‘His footwork is perfect, his decision-making is excellent, and although he does not have the strongest arm, it’s crazy how many deep balls he threw to Alabama who was right on the money. ”
As King noted, there is never a shortage of analytics on incoming class QBs. When San Francisco ranked second in the 2017 NFL draft, ESPN and Pro Football Focus had Mitchell Trubisky as the best QB, ahead of Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. We all see how the projections went.
This is going to amount to the QB that will impress Shanahan the most over the next few weeks. Jones, Fields and Lance each have their own strengths and weaknesses, but the Niners make the choice to secure their quarterback of the future.
While Jimmy Garoppolo is still in the rankings, the 49ers can take their time to develop which signal caller they choose. While one prospect may be further in its development, Shanahan may prefer to go with the QB that has the greatest potential to grow.
We’ll hear a lot of rumors giving rise to the concept, but it looks like the Niners will use every second before making their final decision.