The San Francisco 49ers have completed their trio journey to look at the three prospects of QB that are likely to be available when they make the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have seen Mac Jones, Justin Fields and Trey Lance personally throw and now have a little over a week to make their final decision.
Most trek experts have the Niners with Jones, but the case against choosing the Alabama product is that he is not as tall as Fields and Lance.
Lynch and Shanahan traveled to North Dakota State on Monday to see Lance’s second pro day.
ESPN’s Todd McShay was on The Rich Iron Show and was going on about Lance’s ability and said he would pick the 20-year-old with the third choice.
‘I would take Trey Lance. “I’m just going to be honest,” McShay said. ‘I’ll take Trey Lance from the North Dakota state. I think he has the highest ceiling of the other quarterbacks after the top two, but I keep hearing – the intel I keep getting is that Mac Jones is going to be the choice. ‘
Lance, who played in Division I-AA, cheered the Niners series the least. He only started one season for the Bisons, which came in 2019 as a red panty first year. Lance scored twice and ran in the second win 39-28 over North Dakota over Central Arkansas in a showdown that took place in October 2020.
Lance is at £ 6’4, 226 pounds. He has all the physical tools to be a high-level NFL quarterback, but some scouts believe he needs a little more spice before he’s ready to be a forward.
That would fit in with what Shanahan and Lynch said they were planning for the 2021 season. After moving the trade, Lynch and Shanahan have stated they plan to keep current starter Jimmy Garoppolo for at least next season. It would give a prospect like Lance some time to develop and learn Shanahan’s intricate transgression.
“He’s built like a solid point,” McShay said of Lance. “He is strong. He is so competitive. He expands plays. He’s having a great time. His biggest problem is that he, mechanically, his footwork is not where it should be, and that footwork equals ball placement. I mean, that’s how it works.
“He has to go somewhere where he can probably sit for a year, which is why I think San Francisco at three makes sense. Atlanta at four makes sense. Where you can sit a year or a Matt Ryan behind a Jimmy Garoppolo and have the time to work on the things he needs to work on.
“When I look at him, I see just as much potential. I just think he has a chance to be a star in the league, but he needs the right development. ‘
But as McShay said, he keeps hearing that San Francisco will go with Jones, though he does not necessarily think it is those who will take the 49ers.
“I keep hearing (that the Niners will go with Jones), but to be honest, it’s hard to buy it,” McShay said. ‘I’m watching this, and I’m thinking of Kyle Shanahan watching Matt Ryan to get out of the field goal position in the (Super Bowl loss to the Patriots) and lose that Super Bowl, and then watch Patrick Mahomes run around in the second half (of Super Bowl LIV) and expand the game with that mobility.
‘And I know he wants football intelligence, and I know what he’s had before, but to me, do you not want someone you can develop and the higher ceiling? It’s going to be fascinating to see (what they do). ”
McShay ranked the available QBs as follows: 1) Trevor Lawrence, 2) Zach Wilson, 3) Trey Lance, 4) Justin Fields, 5) Mac Jones.
It is generally expected that the Jacksonville Jaguars will go with Lawrence and that Robert Saleh and the New York Jets will go with Wilson.
There has been nothing but speculation since the 49ers finalized the deal with the Miami Dolphins. It looks like it will last until San Francisco is officially on the clock on April 29th.