There may not be more compelling player story lines to watch throughout the 2021 NFL season than those of some rookie quarterbacks and how/when they'll see action on the football field. For Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson, there's practically no intrigue. The No. 1 and 2 overall picks from this year's draft are going to play right away, and they're likely going to turn heads with what they're able to do. But after that, it becomes much more interesting.
And of the three other first-round quarterbacks — Trey Lance, Justin Fields and Mac Jones — Lance's case feels the most intriguing. It feels inevitable that Fields is going to take the reins from Andy Dalton at some point, and maybe pretty early, in the year. In New England, there could be a battle that develops between Jones and Newton for the starting spot, but he feels like more of a long-term answer than a win-now asset.
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And then there's Lance, the third overall pick of the draft, the guy that required two future first-rounders in order for the 49ers to draft, the undeniably high-ceiling, low-floor North Dakota product that is looking to shake things up in the Bay Area. When will he get a chance to do so? That's the big question, and one that Kyle Juszczyk doesn't really want to think about. Though opinions differ, Audacy NFL insider Brian Baldinger is confident that it'll be right out of the gate.
"Well, the 49ers open in Detroit, and I'd be shocked — shocked — if Trey Lance doesn't get the ball in his hands the opening game of the season," Baldinger explained on the NFC West preview episode of "Baldy's Breakdowns," an Audacy podcast. "I mean, I just think there's going to be a rotation, and I think Kyle [Shanahan] understands as well as anybody the need for continuity at that position and for a quarterback to find his rhythm.
"I think there's going to be packages for Trey Lance, and it's not going to be just a run-read option. I believe that he's going to be given a series. I believe that he's going to be able to throw it. I fully expect Trey Lance to be on the field."
Baldinger thinks it could be while Jimmy G is split out wide, too, similarly to how the Eagles began to deploy Jalen Hurts or how the Saints eased Taysom Hill into the offense. Though Baldinger acknowledges we'd sometimes shake our heads in disbelief when Carson Wentz and Drew Brees lined out wide in these sets, he also notes that those sets exist because they're effective.
"...It was difficult to defend, and it was effective. I expect this is already going to be a good running team if this offensive line stays together," Baldinger explained. "...We have seen playoff games where they might just dial up 15 straight runs in a row, and Kyle Shanahan doesn't care how they put up 30 points. He wants to get to 30, and if it's running the ball down people's throats and he's seeing the defense break down and they're pointing fingers at one another, there's another run coming."
Whether it's running or passing, Baldy fully expects Lance to take the field in Week 1 and play an active role. And it seems as though he, and the rest of 49ers nation, are more than excited to see what he brings to the table regardless of how he's used.
"I love his natural ability to play the position," Shanahan said about his rookie QB (via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports). "Then when you add in a type of running element, which I've always been intrigued with, but when you've got a guy with the skill sets as far as speed and size, to where you're not going to make him a runner but if you can get in certain formations where the defense knows you will run him if they don't honor him, now everything is different.
"If you can ever get a guy like that and make 11-on-11 football then I think you got a guy who can change some things for you."
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