3 things Trey Lance must do to steal Jimmy Garoppolo’s job

No. 3: Trey Lance must display terminology command of 49ers offense

Kyle Shanahan operates a notoriously complex offense.

Any single play could look almost identical to four or five other formations, which is the point. Defenses don’t know what’s going to be run out of that lineup. But one of the biggest challenges is mastering the terminology used to describe the play, both within the huddle and at the line of scrimmage.

This can be a challenge for any rookie quarterback, even those operating in relatively simple offensive systems. Tack on how challenging it might be for Trey Lance to do this within Shanahan’s offense, and you can see the difficulty.

Yet one of the things veteran offensive lineman told FanSided’s Matt Lombardo on the Stacking the Box Podcast was just how quickly Lance picked up the play-calling on the field during organized team activities, saying:

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

But Brunskill was impressed with how well Lance adapted, noting he didn’t look like a rookie out there with the first-team unit.

Jimmy Garoppolo has now been immersed in Shanahan’s system for over three years now, and many have argued it takes a full year to master it.

In terms of starting in 2021, Lance is already behind the curve. But if that learning curve accelerates to the point where Lance has a general command of the offense, he might be in line to start.