Trey Lance: 4 reasons why 49ers rookie QB starts in 2021

No. 2: 49ers struggle early, Trey Lance comes in to the rescue

Let’s piggyback on a prediction CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin made shortly after the 49ers’ 2021 regular-season schedule came out.

In Benjamin’s prediction model, the Niners start the upcoming season with Jimmy Garoppolo under center but struggle to a 2-4 beginning of the year, interluded with a Week 6 by in which Kyle Shanahan inserts Trey Lance.

Lance then struggles early, too, but his raw skill set and a dialed-back offense from Shanahan ultimately prove to be the right combination to get San Francisco back on track to a 12-5 record to close out the season.

Does it sound reasonable?

Possibly. Predictions are nothing more than just that, of course.

But the underlying theme here is the reality that any Garoppolo struggles carrying over from a game-to-game basis are ultimately going to push Shanahan to start Lance sooner than later.

Particularly for a 49ers team that invested a lofty draft pick in a player they hope to be the future of the franchise. And with playoff aspirations fully in focus, as soon as Shanahan feels Lance gives the Niners an equal shot at winning games as would Garoppolo, normally, the head coach would make the move.

According to Benjamin, that point just comes earlier than others may have predicted.