How Trey Lance Reminded the 49ers why They Traded up for him

Trey Lance did something against the Texans that acted as a reminder for why the 49ers drafted him.

Trey Lance had a decent outing against the Texans.

By no means did it start off pretty. The first half was sketchy, while the second half was solid. It is what you would expect from a rookie with minimal playing time. 

Still, with all things considered, Lance performed admirably and showcased a lot of positivity with his gameplay. For instance, his performance revealed a tip of the iceberg as to how the offense can look with him in the future. It gave a great projection for the future with him as the starter.

In fact, Lance reminded the 49ers why they traded up for him against the Texans.

Lance, in just his second start, did something in the 49ers offense that hasn't occurred under Kyle Shanahan in years. Next Gen Stats showcased that Lance averaged the most air yards/attempt (11.5) and threw for the most yards on 10-plus air yards passes by any 49ers quarterback in the past three season.

Trey Lance brought a vertical element to the 49ers offense in his second career start.

Lance averaged the most air yards/attempt (11.5) and threw for the most yards on 10+ air yards passes (205) by any 49ers QB in a game over the last three seasons.#HOUvsSF | #FTTB pic.twitter.com/EBe38tvrUU

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 3, 2022

The ability to push the ball downfield raises the ceiling to the offense. It gives the 49ers a new dynamic, which is something they have struggled to achieve in years. With Lance as the starter, it opens the spectrum as to what Shanahan can call for the offense. 

Throw that in with the fact that he is mobile and adds off-script playmaking ability, and you have yourself an exciting quarterback. Another thing that can get overlooked is how the 49ers do not have to restrict Lance to a specific portion of the field. The pass chart earlier above shows how spread his attempts were. There is balance to his throws. Defenses cannot key in on where he is going to chuck it.

Jimmy Garoppolo, on the other hand, is predictable. 

Throwing toward the middle of the field is his specialty, but it is all he has. He doesn't have the arm strength nor the accuracy to hit throws that are moderate to deep yardage. Besides, throwing to the middle of the field is supposed to be relatively easy for a quarterback. Garoppolo struggles to throw outside the hashes. This is why we see so many of his outside hash throws around the line of scrimmage. 

While it is a formula that has worked for the 49ers, it isn't a sustainable one because even if the run game is effective, all it takes is for one Garoppolo blunder to stall them out. Kind of like the Titans game.  Plus, he is kind of a statue in the pocket, which makes sense why Shanahan taps into his fast release time. This is something Shanahan will not have to worry about with Lance.

There is a good chance Lance will get the start against the Rams in the season finale Sunday. Perhaps this will be another game where he will demonstrate the capabilities of the offense with him as the starter.