4 vital storylines to watch during Week 2 of 49ers OTAs
By Peter Panacy
The 49ers kick off their second week of organized team activities, and you'll want to pay attention to these developments.
The San Francisco 49ers already wrapped up their first week of organized team activities. And while there was only one session available to the media, it's pretty clear some of the notable storylines are budding to the surface.
Again, OTAs are nothing like training camp. Pads aren't on, tackling is forbidden and the level of competition is nothing like it'll be later this summer.
However, OTAs are vital in helping determine training camp depth charts, and it's also a good chance to observe some of those offseason storylines.
Case in point, late last year, then-rookie EDGE Drake Jackson quite literally ran out of steam down the stretch and became a weekly healthy scratch. Per Grant Cohn of Sports Illustrated, this year, Jackson "looks like a five-year veteran with a grown man's body."
Unfortunately, Jackson won't be able to showcase his physical prowess much until training camp because of that whole contact-rule thingy.
That said, here are four different storylines you'll want to pay close attention to during Week 2 of OTAs.
49ers OTA storyline No. 1: Is Trey Lance separating from Sam Darnold?
The Niners may have already crowned second-year pro Brock Purdy as their starting quarterback going forward, but with him out and recovering from offseason elbow surgery, now is the last best shot for fellow quarterback Trey Lance to reassert himself atop the depth chart.
Lance will have to vastly outplay whatever Purdy did late last year and into the playoffs to justify yet another change under center, but first, the No. 3 overall pick from the 2021 NFL Draft will have to beat out another third-overall pick, Sam Darnold, whom San Francisco liked enough to sign to a $4.5 million contract during the offseason, $3.5 million of which is guaranteed.
Multiple reports had both Lance and Darnold charted pretty evenly during practices last week, so it's hard to gauge whether or not either player is in the lead.
However, if Lance isn't significantly ahead of Darnold by the end of OTAs, it'll be an awfully bad omen for his future with the 49ers.