The San Francisco 49ers selected Trey Lance with the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. They traded two first-round picks and a third-round pick to Miami for the right to draft Lance. Since then, he’s started just four games and went 2-2 in those contests. The Trey Lance Era has yet to truly begin after an unfortunate season-ending ankle injury in Week 2.
Luckily for the 49ers, they kept Jimmy Garoppolo after an offseason of rumors and he’s stepped right in. Given the veteran quarterback’s success so far this season, some are wondering if the 49ers made the right decision in trading up to select Lance.
Evan Giddings and Marc Grandi of the Audacy Original Podcast “The 415ers” discussed whether or not the 49ers made the right decision to trade up for Lance and one of them had a strong stance on the subject.
“I will unequivocally say they absolutely should have,” Grandi said (9:32 in player above). “Kyle Shanahan made the right decision. You have to look at a larger sample size. Jimmy Garoppolo played well the last two weeks. Week 3 against the Broncos was terrible. There will be bad Jimmy. He will show his face again.”
Garoppolo got to the Super Bowl in the 2019 season and had a 20-10 lead entering the fourth quarter. After the defense intercepted Patrick Mahomes with 11:57 remaining, things were looking bleak for Kansas City. However, the 49ers quarterback went just 3 of 11 for 36 yards with an interception and a fourth-down sack in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LIV.
He’s been able to keep the 49ers in games, but he’s also had some key mistakes that he’s shown to be prone to.
“Unfortunately, it’s just the quarterback that he is. He will probably make a bad mistake, a bad throw, he’ll stay too long in the pocket, won’t get the ball out, take a bad sack to force them out of field goal range in the fourth quarter of a playoff game,” Grandi continued. “Something like that will happen this season. It is what has happened to Jimmy Garoppolo the last number of seasons when he’s been healthy for the 49ers. He’s just good enough to get you a playoff win or two in a year.”
Garoppolo entered this season as the backup to Lance. The 49ers are glad they still have him after Lance’s injury, and it’s never a bad thing to have two quality quarterbacks. Especially with a team built like the 49ers are.
“It’s a good problem to have, obviously, but he’s also playing with the best defense in the NFL. He has really good weapons. He has a head coach who can turn Jeff Wilson Jr. into a 100-yard rusher every week. This is a perfect, a dream scenario for quarterbacks, and Jimmy Garoppolo, unfortunately, just is not good enough to win a Super Bowl, even with a dream situation.
“So yes, trading up in the 2021 NFL Draft was unequivocally the right decision for Kyle Shanahan and frankly, Trey Lance’s performance – whether or not he’s a good quarterback or not – does not change that answer. It was and always will be the right decision to trade up for a quarterback in the 2021 NFL Draft.”
While Grandi opined that trading up for a quarterback was the right move, selecting Lance, in particular, is a bit more questionable.
“You can make the case they drafted the wrong guy. You should’ve drafted someone else. Justin Fields or Mac Jones or whoever you want, anyone else other than Trey Lance, you can make that case. But moving up and getting a new quarterback was not wrong, it will never be wrong,” he continued.
Given the 49ers’ list of high-paid stars in Nick Bosa, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and Trent Williams, among others, the franchise made the right decision.
“There is no way that you can convince me that the Niners’ decision to trade up and select a quarterback in the 2021 NFL Draft was wrong,” Grandi concluded. “Partly because of the way the roster is set up and partly because Jimmy Garoppolo, unfortunately, is not good enough to win you a Super Bowl.”
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