Trey Lance: 4 ambitious goals for 49ers QB in 2022

The 49ers are going to expect a lot out of Trey Lance in 2022, so it’s worthwhile for him to set some awfully lofty goals for himself this season.

In case you’ve missed it, San Francisco 49ers second-year quarterback Trey Lance has been quite the storyline in recent weeks.

As news surrounding wide receiver Deebo Samuel‘s trade request has died down, the focus has once again turned to the signal-caller for whom the Niners aggressively traded up a year ago yet had to sit on the bench as a backup for all but two games, as veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo played his swan-song season with the red and gold.

Hall of Famer Steve Young broached the question about whether or not Lance was “ready,” Young essentially questioning what the word “ready” means in this context.

Others, meanwhile, have asked whether or not San Francisco is fully convinced Lance can be the guy.

The 49ers have to turn to Lance, though, and there will be a lot of pressure on him regardless of the outside noise up to this point.

Amid that, it’d be good for him to set some lofty-yet-achievable goals.

Goal No. 1: Trey Lance should finish with 65.0 completion percentage

During those two starts, and in the handful of other times he saw the field, Lance ultimately ended up with a rookie-year 57.7 completion percentage, completing 41 passes on 71 attempts.

Not terrible for a first-year signal-caller, but it’s not the kind of long-term number the Niners would want to see.

In contrast, let’s take a look at the other four first-round quarterbacks selected in 2021 and see where they finished, all of whom ended up being named starters in year one:

• Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars: 59.6
• Zach Wilson, New York Jets: 55.6
• Justin Fields, Chicago Bears: 58.9
• Mac Jones, New England Patriots: 67.6

Jones, of course, is the one who’ll draw attention here, and it’s hard to argue he was the most pro-ready of all the rookie signal-callers, perhaps outside of Lawrence, taken a year ago. And while Jones’ completion percentage is nevertheless impressive, it’s important to note his frequent 5-yard pass attempts in a simplistic offensive system tailored to his skills inflated that number a lot.

Lance easily has the best supporting cast around him on offense, namely Samuel, meaning a 65-percent completion rate is not only doable but likely, assuming the quarterback can get into his groove.