49ers roster: 4 biggest winners from first week of training camp

49ers Winner No. 1: Quarterback Trey Lance

Take a look out there in the interwebs, and chances are it won’t take you long to find some high-profile argument why Trey Lance should be the 49ers’ Week 1 starter, or at the very least, starting at some point his rookie season.

There’s enough praise to go around for Lance, which is great. But that’s not why he’s listed as a winner here. Not even because it appears as if he’s even beating out Garoppolo for the Niners’ best practice quarterback right now.

San Francisco 49ers

No, Lance is listed as a winner because he’s defying the logic San Francisco was simply going to let him develop as a first-year backup, not rushing him into the fray too soon. Considering Lance had only one full season as a starter in college and played just one game in 2020, it was a sound approach for someone with so much raw talent yet lacking on-field experience.

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It would have been fine if Lance entered training camp as a raw, unrefined rookie with plenty of talent, still sailing his passes and looking overwhelmed at times, which was the case early during organized team activities.

That narrative has changed entirely, though, and Lance is surpassing even the loftiest of expectations placed upon him before this stage in his development.

The fact we’re even suggesting Lance could take over as QB1 right away is an indicator he’s a clear-cut winner out of camp.