Former NFL Scout Breaks Down Trey Lance’s Journey to the Bench

The 2021 draft brought forth undoubtedly one of the most disappointing QB classes in recent memory. Their fifth year is rapidly approaching, but most play-makers from that class find themselves out of their team’s future plans, with only Trevor Lawrence as an exception. Whether it’s Zach Wilson, Mac Jones, or Trey Lance, their NFL dream, as we know it, might just come to an end in 2025.

But as it turns out, Trey Lance showed more promise than the other two, so much so that he seemed perfect for the 49ers when the club drafted him at third. Or is it that the scouts overlooked his athletic prowess since his brief and uninteresting time in the Big League has only highlighted that he wasn’t the dual-threat QB everyone was looking for? Former NFL scout and ‘3 & Out’ host John Middlekauff definitely seems to think so.

Looking back at the 2021 draft class, Middlekauff asserted that Lance was only drafted by the Niners because the franchise felt that they were selecting a ‘hybrid’ QB. He sure seemed like one with his 14 rushing touchdowns in 2019 while playing for the Bisons, but only a few may have noticed that his speed and agility were subpar. Middlekauff also believes that the North Dakota State alum doesn’t even throw the pigskin well and has issues with accuracy.

“He was completely overwhelmed physically… You watch him run, you go, ‘this guy’s not even very fast,'” Middlekauff asserted.

The sportscaster, however, also pointed out how Trey Lance was under a lot of pressure to prove his mettle in the NFL. He excelled above and beyond at the collegiate level, therefore; it was only expected of him. But he just couldn’t keep up with the Kyle Shanahan offense. But in contrast, Brock Purdy, who barely got any love during his draft day, is flourishing.

Difference Between Brock Purdy & Trey Lance

The San Francisco 49ers just had one plan with Trey Lance: have him adapt to the Kyle Shanahan offense. This initially didn’t work, therefore, the head man tried to structure the game plan around him, which also failed to materialize. Mr. Irrelevant, however, didn’t take long before becoming the missing piece of the Shanahan offense.

He led the team to the Super Bowl in his second year as a starter after getting ousted in the NFC title game in his debut season. John Middlekauff, who has attended practices where Purdy and Lance sweated it out, noticed that while Mr. Irrelevant didn’t have Lance’s stature, he still displayed more agility on the field with his constant movements.

Middlekauff also pointed out that while Lance had a lot to prove, given the team gave up three first-round picks to draft him, something that sets back a franchise for years, the case of Purdy is quite the opposite. He turned out to be quite the steal—a steal that any team would pay the big bucks for.

As for Lance, he still has a season left to prove his ball game. It will be quite challenging since he will compete against Cooper Rush for the backup position, but in the realm of the NFL, we have seen even crazier things happen.