3 things Trey Lance must improve upon entering 2022

The 49ers are poised to roll with Trey Lance as their starter in 2022, but the second-year pro will need to take some notable strides his sophomore year.

There are so many reasons to be excited about San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance entering 2022.

Despite the year-long drama associated with Lance sitting behind veteran signal-caller Jimmy Garoppolo for the bulk of 2021, the Niners nevertheless got what they want and protected the No. 3 overall NFL Draft pick from a year ago being forced into the fray too soon.

With Garoppolo destined to be traded this offseason, the door is now open for Lance to assume the next era of San Francisco quarterbacking, hopefully justifying the team’s massive investment in him and paying dividends for years to come.

Particularly if he can make regular plays like this one below, courtesy of Football Outsiders’ Derrick Klassen:

Lance has all the intangibles of a top-tier quarterback, should he develop properly. As shown above, he is capable of quick hits with a strong arm, and that same game against the Houston Texans showed he’s more than able to throw outside the numbers, which wasn’t a Garoppolo strength.

At the same time, Lance was hands down the least experienced quarterback selected in Round 1 of last year’s NFL Draft, having attempted a mere 318 pass attempts.

So, needless to say, this offseason and 2022 preseason programs will be vital for Lance’s development, and it’ll be good for both him and the 49ers to know exactly where he has to show improvement heading into the upcoming season.

We provide three of those improvement points right here.