Trey Lance’s uphill climb to the 49ers’ starting quarterback job figures to be steep. He’ll need to make a substantial leap to overcome the foundation Brock Purdy set as the team’s starter through the latter portion of last season. It appears he took a significant step toward gaining ground on Purdy thanks in part to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Matt Barrows of the Athletic spoke with Lance’s private QB coach Jeff Christensen and did a terrific deep dive on how the QB took significant strides in a crucial offseason for his development. One of the several things that jumped out in Barrows’ piece was how a key moment for Lance came while watching Mahomes – another one of Christensen’s clients. Via the Athletic:
“I said, ‘Watch this. Watch what he does here,’” Christensen recounted. “It was something I was telling him to do that he wasn’t quite doing. And then he saw Patrick apply it perfectly. And I think that visual buy-in, that mental buy-in, helped him past that mental hump.”
“And to his credit he just kept getting better,” he continued. “(Over) the last seven days, every day was a substantial jump.”
Mahomes was a name often invoked when the 49ers took Lance witht he No. 3 overall pick because of their similar skill sets. Both QBs are mobile with big arms who can create chunk plays through that escapability and arm strength. The idea that Lance will ever reach Mahomes’ level is pretty farfetched considering how quickly Mahomes became the best signal caller in the league. Setting the bar for Lance at ‘generational quarterback’ is unrealistic and at least a little unfair.
However, if Lance is going to break through and get back on track as the 49ers’ franchise QB, it’s going to mean his game resembles something in the realm of what Mahomes brings to Kansas City.
Even though it’s unlikely the 49ers have a QB of Mahomes’ caliber on the roster, the fact their shared coach draws such a connection between the two players is a good sign that Lance is taking unprecedented steps in the right direction after two years of more downs than ups.
