Ranking 49ers 10 most important players entering 2022

No. 1: Quarterback Trey Lance

It might seem like a bit of an obvious pick to have the 49ers’ expected starting quarterback, Trey Lance, as the most important player. However, anyone who ranks the most important players on an NFL team and doesn’t put the team’s starting quarterback at No. 1 is lying to you.

An NFL quarterback is regularly referred to as the most important position in sports, and for good reason: A team lives and dies with its quarterback on offense.

The Niners themselves declared Lance’s importance when they traded away two future first-round picks to move up to take him third overall in 2021. After a few years of playing with the good, not great Jimmy Garoppolo, Kyle Shanahan decided he needed an elite quarterback to take his offense to the next level, and he chose Lance.

Lance has been discussed more than any other 49er this offseason, so you likely don’t need to hear more about why San Francisco chose him to helm the ship. But ESPN’s Mina Kimes puts it nicely here and wrote, “Deep throwing ability, mobility putting LBs in conflict, and, as shown here, the physical tools to troubleshoot when s**t isn’t optimal.”

That last sentence gets down to the essence of it. The 49ers want Lance to be a guy who when the designed play isn’t working, can make something happen anyway. That’s what they’ve lacked in recent seasons, and it’s what makes Lance so important.

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If Lance can truly be that kind of quarterback, then the Niners’ already spectacular offense can take the next step, and considering they made it to the NFC Championship game in 2021 without that, the sky is the limit for what will happen if they do.

But, if Lance proves to be a bust, he will bring down San Francisco’s 2022 hopes with him, and likely the entire Shanahan regime as well.

The 49ers will go as far as Lance will take them in 2022, and for that reason, he is far and away the team’s most important player.