49ers news: Daniel Brunskill describes Trey Lance as ‘tremendous’

49ers OL Daniel Brunskill had some provocative things to say about rookie Trey Lance on FanSided’s Stacking the Box podcast with Matt Lombardo.

It’s understandable why a number of San Francisco 49ers players are conflicted between the team’s two quarterbacks, Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance.

Earlier this offseason, All-Pro tight end George Kittle remained unswayed in his loyalty to Jimmy G, yet even Kittle sang Lance’s praises. And overall, there’s a general understanding of how the NFL is both a business and the ultimate arena for competition.

Niners offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill is another one of those with close eyes on the budding quarterback competition that’ll spill over into training camp.

Brunskill sat down with FanSided’s NFL insider, Matt Lombardo, on the Stacking the Box podcast and shed some light on what he saw from the North Dakota State quarterback.

“Trey is a great player,” Brunskill told Lombardo. “He’s got a tremendous arm, he’s very athletic and he can run the ball. He can do several different things, physically, in that aspect. On top of that, I think he’s one of the better rookie quarterbacks that I’ve seen.”

What struck Brunskill the most was how well Lance had absorbed the play-calling from head coach Kyle Shanahan during OTAs, particularly in light of the offense’s complex nature.

“That’s tough for these rookie quarterbacks, especially when you come into a Kyle Shanahan offense,” Brunskill added. “These plays can be pretty long.”

49ers drafted Trey Lance not just because of his athleticism but his football smarts, too

Despite Lance’s relatively limited sample size in college, having thrown just 318 pass attempts with only one full season as a starter, San Francisco was enamored enough with Lance’s massive upside and potential, trading up for him at the No. 3 overall spot in this year’s NFL Draft.

While Lance’s physical traits are more than enticing, including his innate ability to be a big-bodied rusher with plenty of speed to burn, the 49ers also had to be intrigued by Lance running a pro-style offense not totally unlike what Shanahan currently operates.

In fact, during Lance’s second pro day, the Niners asked to implement a lot of Shanahan-like schemes to see whether or not the quarterback could command them.

Read More: 49ers apparently are running Trey Lance’s second pro day

Judging by hindsight, he could.

“He’s a smart player, and I think he’s going to be a tremendous player one day,” Brunskill added. “That’s for sure.”

San Francisco isn’t in a position where it has to start Lance right away, though. At least not with Garoppolo still under contract and all but penciled in as the starter this upcoming season.

And while the 49ers may be leaning towards letting Garoppolo start, Shanahan will unquestionably turn the reins over to Lance as soon as he feels the rookie quarterback gives the team an equally good shot at winning games as Jimmy G.

That particular aspect might not happen right away, but it also might not take a full year’s time to make it happen either.

Nevertheless, Brunskill now finds himself yet another one of the many offensive players on the Niners roster seeing, perhaps, one of the most important transitions of power in the franchise’s recent history.

Judging by what the offensive lineman has witnessed so far, it should be a pretty good one.

Be sure to check out all of the Stacking the Box podcasts featuring Matt Lombardo here.