49ers NFL Draft: San Francisco apparently running Trey Lance workout

Trey Lance is a dark horse for the No. 3 pick, but the San Francisco 49ers are doing their diligence.

With the speculation on who the San Francisco 49ers are going to draft at No. 3, the team has turned their attention to North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance and his second pro day.

Lance is very much an outside fancy to be the pick at No. 3, but his attributes are intriguing enough that if the Niners invest the time needed to develop the raw quarterback, he could be the quarterback of the future.

If one questions the logic of adding a developmental quarterback here, you only need to look at the Kansas City Chiefs trading up to get Patrick Mahomes in a similar situation. They sat him for a year and now have the best quarterback in the league as well as a Super Bowl to show for it.

Now to be clear, I am not saying Lance is the next Mahomes, but the situations do lead to a series of similar coincidences.

Dan Graziano of ESPN reported the 49ers have been exceptionally involved in Lance’s second pro day workout:

There are some clues the Niners are seriously considering Lance. The team is still looking to win a Super Bowl, and Lance won’t be able to do that in 2021, keeping current starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo on the roster for a year to be a bridge quarterback at his salary makes a lot more sense if Lance was the heir apparent.

Another clue is from head coach Kyle Shanahan himself. People identify Kirk Cousins as the ideal prototype for a Shanahan QB, but he rubbished these claims:

"I think Kirk does a good job for whatever team he plays for every year. There’s a number of quarterbacks like that, but that’s the only one I’ve been associated with because people thought I was trying to bring him here, which I was at the time. It’s not because that’s how you draw it up. If you’re going to draw it up, you’re going to draw the biggest, fastest, strongest and best quarterback in the pocket. So, I think that’s pretty ridiculous to say that."

Lance is a dead ringer for this mold. He’s very big, very fast, has a rocket arm, and while he needs some work with his raw ability, he does have some expertise in the play-action style that’s employed by San Francisco.

In short, don’t rule this guy out just yet.

If Lance impresses at his pro day, then this QB draft controversy may just have a few wrinkles left in it yet.