49ers: Kyle Shanahan must resist temptation to start Trey Lance too early

Kyle Shanahan has hinted the 49ers could start Trey Lance sooner than expected, but can the rookie QB be ready to take over in 2021?

Maybe it’s just a bit of offseason hype for his young quarterback, but San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has hinted the talented (but raw) Trey Lance could be handed the keys to the franchise sooner rather than later.

I love Lance’s potential, but I have to play the role of sports beat writer Grinch here and advise against starting him sooner rather than later.

At least if the general consensus about Lance is correct.

The overwhelming opinion on Lance coming into the 2021 NFL Draft was simply that he has every tool needed to be an elite quarterback at the pro level but needs time to grow. Playing only one game in 2020, playing against lower-division opponents and just the general NFL game being a lot faster and more difficult means that Lance will understandably need time to adjust.

If you look at their physical skills coming out of college, Lance is not unlike the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes as a strong passer who has the legs to make plays. Mahomes, it should be noted, sat out for a year behind veteran quarterback Alex Smith in 2017 to get attuned to the game.

Make no mistake, Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have bet the Niners’ future as well as their own jobs on the selection of Lance. It’s likely to be a few years before we can get a good look at how that gamble will pay off, but this will define their legacy.

So the idea of starting him before he’s ready is understandable. We’ve seen it happen a lot, with current 49ers quarterback Josh Rosen an excellent example of someone who was played before he was ready and subsequently paying for it, bouncing around the league as something of an afterthought.

This doesn’t mean not to play Lance at all. It would be interesting to see if Shanahan can bring him in for certain plays or situations that may suit his strengths while still protecting his development. But the 49ers chose to hang onto incumbent quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo despite his cap hit for a reason, and that was to have a bridge quarterback on the team.

And, hey, maybe the draft projections are wrong and Lance is more pro-ready than anticipated. People thought Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert would need a lot of development, but he surprised people right out of the gate.

But Herbert is an exception and not the rule. It shouldn’t surprise if Lance does need time before he’s ready to take the mantle of franchise signal-caller.

It’s not folly to draft a project quarterback in the first round if he has the skills to be special, and the team has the patience to bring it out. That’s what the 49ers fans will need: patience to not see the team become Lance’s until 2022.

If the fans and Shanahan can successfully resist that temptation, the rewards for doing so could very well set San Francisco up for the next 15 years at quarterback.