The San Francisco 49ers made waves with a huge trade up to third overall and dealt out three first round picks and a third round pick for the rights to grab North Dakota State signal caller Trey Lance. After an exciting pre-season Trey Lance begged the question, when will he start? Let’s answer that.
The 49ers are rolling with Jimmy Garoppolo as their starting quarterback despite investing so much in Trey Lance. Lance is a raw prospect with an incredibly high ceiling but he needs time to develop. The 49ers are trying to “win now”, so what is their course of action? Start Trey Lance. Trey Lance is the better athlete, the more physically capable player, and is more of a play maker than Jimmy G. If Kyle Shanahan can start Lance now, he can get the growing pains out of the way and can have his offense firing on all cylinders for when he needs it in December and through the playoffs. Trey Lance is the best option in the room right now but he is riskier and will indefinitely make more mistakes than Garoppolo. In a division with the Cardinals, Seahawks, and Rams, playing it safe wont cut it and starting your top five pick could just be your ticket to the top.