Did 49ers hit or reach on their last 6 top-10 NFL Draft picks?

49ers 2021 top-10 NFL Draft pick: Trey Lance

No. 3 overall

It is arguable no other NFL player has been more polarizing ahead of his sophomore season than quarterback Trey Lance.

The 49ers traded three draft picks to move up in the 2021 NFL Draft to the third pick overall and selected Lance out of North Dakota State. It was seen as a move to improve their quarterback room over Jimmy Garoppolo, who was oft-injured and had a big drop-off in depth after him with C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens.

Lance ended up starting in two games when Garoppolo was again injured and finished his rookie season with a 1-1 record.

His first start against the Arizona Cardinals was uninspiring and it seemed as though he chose to run a bit too much when the pressure got to him, taking a game-high 16 rushing attempts. He would finish that game with 192 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception in a losing effort

In his second start against the Houston Texans in Week 17, however, he looked much more polished, throwing for 249 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, this time in a winning effort.

Garoppolo would return for the season finale against the Los Angeles Rams and start all throughout the playoffs, coming up just short in the NFC Championship against the Rams again.

This, of course, led to an offseason circus that seemingly divided all the fanbase and the pundits with some of those ready for Lance to take the reins and those that think he’s not ready. The fact that Garoppolo was very publicly on the trade block and the team couldn’t find a trade partner made it seem as though he was going to be staying on the team at one point.

However, it seems as though Lance will be the starter for the Niners in 2022, and although he is oozing with potential and raw talent, only time will tell if he was the right pick at No. 3.

Hit or Reach: Too early to say