49ers roster: These 5 players impressed most during mandatory minicamp
By Peter Panacy
No. 1: 49ers quarterback Trey Lance
With the 49ers having excused veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo from minicamp, in light of his offseason shoulder surgery, Trey Lance has been given all first-team reps and the responsibility of engineering the offense at all levels.
It would be fair to wonder if the second-year pro might shirk at the experience, perhaps being overwhelmed by suddenly being “the guy.”
Well, that hasn’t happened.
On day one of minicamp, Lance went 14-of-18 passing with four touchdowns and an interception on a drop by Brandon Aiyuk. On the second day, Lance responded with a 10-of-15 line with two deep touchdown passes against an interception.
All that is great, yes. But it’s the leadership aspect that’s arguably standing out in a bigger way.
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“As a leader, I just feel like he’s stepped up,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said of Lance, via 49ers Webzone. “He’s just a very natural leader, a guy people gravitate toward. It’s all been good so far.”
It’s important to note two things here with regards to Lance. The 22-year-old No. 3 overall pick from the 2021 NFL Draft is still young and inexperienced, yes. And that concern won’t go away until it eventually does. It’s also important to acknowledge these practices lack a true pass rush, and receivers typically have the advantage.
But if Lance was struggling in these offensive-friendly scenarios, that’d be a problem.
It hasn’t been at all, and that’s good.
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