ESPN’s Marcus Spears Rips 49ers for Historically Bad Trade

The former Cowboys standout still can’t believe San Francisco made this deal.

The NFL draft is far from an exact science.

Specifically, clubs in need of a franchise quarterback often swing and miss at the top of the draft. Look no further than Ryan Leaf, Tim Couch and JaMarcus Russell to name just a few.

With Brock Purdy, the last pick of the 2022 draft, ready to be the 49ers’ starter this season, the chorus of voices calling Trey Lance a bust is getting louder.

In 2021, the 49ers sent three first-round picks, as well as a 2022 third-round pick in order to move up from No. 12 to No. 3 to select the North Dakota State standout.

During ESPN’s First Take on Monday, NFL analyst Marcus Spears went so far as to state that San Francisco’s decision to cough up immense draft capital could go down as one of the worst trades in NFL history.

“Look, they’ve got a terrible situation on their hands with Trey Lance. … This may go down as one of the worst trades in the draft in the history of the NFL,” said Spears. “The fortunate part is Kyle Shanahan has done such a phenomenal job of getting this team ready to play and being so creative offensively that it hasn’t shown in the win/loss column. But you lost a lot by going up and getting Trey Lance.”

"This may go down as one of the worst trades in the draft in the history of the NFL."

—@mspears96 on Trey Lance and the 49ers 😳 pic.twitter.com/ZTyzjwqUGw

— First Take (@FirstTake) August 14, 2023

“We [Dan Orlovsky and himself] sat there during the draft, and we’re like, ‘Why wouldn’t you take Justin Fields? Like, why wouldn’t you have Justin Fields in this situation after we saw Zach Wilson go?’ Some of us even thought that Justin Fields should go beyond Zach Wilson,” added a puzzled Spears.

Lance now finds himself in the same situation as Wilson with the Jets—carrying a clipboard and still trying to find his footing at the NFL level.

On the flip side of the deal, the Dolphins turned one of those selections into star wideout Jaylen Waddle, and further used the capital to land Tyreek Hill in a deal with Kansas City. The two weapons, who make up arguably the best wide receiver tandem in the NFL, have transformed Miami into one the most dangerous offenses in the league.