Hey, I don’t know. But seeing as the Trey Lance hope train is losing steam, let’s take a look at the draft record for the current brain trust. My contention is the fact we gave away the farm for Lance isn’t the crippling debacle it could have been. Our high draft pick record is spotty anyway, so the hit is not as damaging as it could have been.
I won;t grade this year as they haven’t played. So . . .
2022
- 2-61 DL Drake Jackson, USC – So far, meh. Lots of room for improvement
- 3-93 RB Tyrion Davis-Price, LSU – So far, meh. Lots of room for improvement
- 3-105 WR Danny Gray, SMU – Waste pick. Has done nothing.
- 4-134 OL Spencer Burford, UTSA – Solid pick. Rounded out into a long-term starter
- 5-172 CB Samuel Womack, Toledo – Decent player. Good get where he was drafted
- 5-187 OL Nick Zakelj, Fordham – Could be a good pick if he’s a decent backup
- 6-220- DL Kalia Davis, UCF – 3rd stringer.
- 6-221 DB Tariq Castro-Fields, Penn State – Gone
- 7-262 QB Brock Purdy, Iowa State – Draft steal of the century? Much still to prove, but
2021
- 1, 3 – Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State – Still waiting
- 2, 48 (from LV) – Aaron Banks, G, Notre Dame – With Burford, a long-term starter
- 3, 88 (from LAR) – Trey Sermon, RB, Ohio St – The usual 3rd round waste pick
- 3, 102 – Ambry Thomas, CB, Michigan – Solid for where we got him
- 5, 155 – Jaylon Moore, OG, Western Michigan – Struggling to get it
- 5, 172 – Deommodore Lenoir, CB, Oregon – Hot and cold. mainly cold but a 5
- 5, 180 – Talanoa Hufanga, S, USC – Dude looks for real, Great start last year
- 6, 194 – Elijah Mitchell, RB, Louisiana – Great for where we got him, Injury prone
2020
1, 14th (from Bucs) DT Javon Kinlaw, SCar – Still waiting. Injuries may kill career
1: 25th (from Vikes) WR Brandon Aiyuk, AZ State – Total baller. Breakout season coming up
5: 153rd (from Miami) OL Colton McKivitz, WVa – This season we’ll see. 5th round steal?
6: 190th (from Eagles) TE Charlie Woerner, GA – Solid 6th round pick. Nothing great
7: 217th (from Lions) WR Jauan Jennings, Tennessee – Tough as nails. Could be starter. Keeper
2019
1: Nick Bosa, DE, Ohio State – Pay the man. Worth every penny
2: Deebo Samuel, WR, SCar – Paid the man. Worth every penny
3: Jalen Hurd, WR, Baylor – Waste pick. Retired
4: Mitch Wishnowsky, P, Utah – Too high for a punter, but hey, he’s still here
5: Dre Greenlaw, LB, Ark – Great pick. Phenomenal hitter
6: Kaden Smith, TE, Stanford – Gone and forgotten
6: Justin Skule, OT, Vandy – Drifted to Tampa Bay
6: Tim Harris, CB, Va – Out of the league i think
2018
1 (9) Mike McGlinchey, OT, ND – Good pick, not great. Priced off the team
2 (44) Dante Pettis, WR, Wash – Waste pick but still in the league on ST
3 (70) Fred Warner, OLB, BYU – Possible HOFer. Spectacular pick
3 (95) Tarv. Moore, S, S Miss – Decent guy. On the Packers
4 (128) Kent. Street, DE, NC St – Decent pick for 4th but injured and now an Eagle
5, (142) D.J. Reed, DB, K State – Great pick. Solid DB we let get away
6 (184) Marcell Harris, DB, Fla – Backup. FA.
7 (223) Jul. Taylor, DT Temple – Bounced around the league. Done.
7 (240) Rick James, WR M Ten St – Good pick at 7. Solid special teamer.
2017
1, 3. Solomon Thomas, DE Snodfart – High 3rd rounder at best. Bust at #3
1, 31. Reuben Foster, LB Alabama – Head case. Bust at #31. USFLer now
3, 66. Ahkelo Witherspoon, CB Colo – Inconsistent, but not terrible. Solid 3 pick
4, 104. C.J. Beathard, QB Iowa – Forever backup. Fine for a 4th
4, 121. Joe Williams, RB Utah – Waste pick of all their waste picks
5, 146. George Kittle, TE Iowa – Another huge steal this low
6, 177. Trent Taylor, WR Louisiana Tech – Solid at 6. STer and good possession WR
7, 198. D.J. Jones, DT Mississippi – Yet another late-round steal. Priced out of here
7, 202. Pita Taumoepenu, LB Utah – On the Jets. Other than that, ?
7, 229. Adrian Colbert, CB Miami – On the Bears. Other than that, ?
There you have it. Looking at the list:
1st round pick starters – 2 – Bosa, Aiyuk (McGlinchey starting for Denver)
2nd round pick starters – 2 – Banks, Deebo
3rd round pick starters – 1 – Fred Warner
4th round pick starters – 2 – Burford, Wishnowski
5th round pick starters – 4 – Kittle, McKivitz, Greenlaw, Hufanga (honorable mention DJ Reed)
6th round pick starters – 1 – Mitchell
7th round pick starters – 1 – Purdy (honorable mention to Jauan Jennings and DJ Jones)
Agree or disagree with my thoughts on these guys, but more often than not, this team hits their starters at 4 and below. When you look at teams that have sold the farm for a shot as a QB, the fucking Rams spring to mind. They traded their first-round pick (2016), two second-round picks (2016), a third-round pick (2016), a first-round pick (2017) and another third-round pick (2017) for Jared Goff.
Yes, the same Jared Goff they traded to Deetroit for Matthew Stafford, two 1st round picks (2022, 2023), and a 2021 3rd round pick.
So, they cut their losses with Goff, and traded MORE #1 picks to get Stafford. Granted, the Rams are a disaster now, but they did manage to squeeze out a Super Bowl victory in all that mess.
San Francisco 49ers Forever 
Cannot copy the link at ninersnation.com but Gannon and Orlovsky are not fans of Trey Lance.
Cannot run our O that is mostly from the shotgun. Another Kapernick that needs plays where reads are half the field .
I suspect some if not all of this negative press is to lower his trade value.
More importantly these crap trades must not happen again. Our online needed those firsts stupidly given up the last two drafts.
I could not have been more disappointed when that trade was announced. Then, when we drafted Lance, I was pissed.
I’ve since been rooting for him. Afterall, the trade is done.
Yesterday was not very impressive but I am hoping he does better next week. He will have film to watch and maybe his receivers will clean things up too. Shanny said on one sack he had the correct 2nd read but one of the rookie WRs took a wrong route and brought his defender into that coverage.
Problem with that is Shanny doesn’t seem to want to put him into a position to succeed. Yesterday was no starters around him, 9 pass plays called in a row to open the game, and the protection was terrible as the Raiders seemed to know we were gonna try to throw. Once Shanny called a few run plays did the offense start moving.
One would think that the starters would block better and get open faster.
Yeah, Lance was skittish. But he wasn’t helped by his line or his coach.
None of these QBs has been a star. Lawrence is the closest, and I’m sure he’d be doing great here, but Fields and Wilson are not doing much, and Jones is already on the outs with Belichick. So, short of trying for Lawrence, who would you like? Fields is more decisive running, but Wilson is a mess.
The two I liked were Fields and Jones. Fields is starting to look fairly decent, and Jones had a horrendous play caller last year. I would still take either over Lance. My first choice would be to have never made the trade and take the player that was taken in our spot, Micah Parsons.
Hindsight being what it is, yeah, Parsons would look fantastic on this team.
I get why they did what they did. There were a lot of QBs available, and they were all supposed to be good, but it sure isn’t panning out as anyone foresaw.
At overthecap.com the niners currently have 10 million of cap space. Lance hit is 9. 3 million, darnold 5.7 million.
Mckivitz is 6’6″ 301 lbs an undersized RT and more liable to be pushed into qb and also injured. He seems to be our weakest position. A trade may need shedding of cap space like Lance.
A big weakness was lack of production from kinlaw, necessitating a big spend on Hargrave.
No draft help for an RT that can be a starter this year. Is a trade for a capable vet about to happen.
I didn’t think Kinlaw looked very good on Sunday while healthy. I’ve seen him dominate double teams. He needs to show up.
Preseason hype is just that. until it happens on the field, they can tout all the guys they want
If we trade for anything it’s. O line help. Lance will cost nothing to let go after this season.
From touchdown wire:
hat nobody expected, but in the end, I think that Sam Darnold will be the 49ers’ starting quarterback this season. He’s more mobile than people think, so he can run all of Shanahan’s boot stuff, and he’s a legitimate red zone rushing threat – he had five rushing touchdowns for the Panthers in 2021, and he’s got enough of an arm to make Y-throwback happen with ease. Darnold isn’t perfect, but he doesn’t need to be. He needs to take Shanahan’s playbook, pour it into his head, and not screw it up. Those things, he can do better than any other quarterback the 49ers currently have.
Darnold needs lots of snaps this preseason and crash course in the playbook. Can he overtake Purdy. 55 game experience in nfl.
Lance needs lots of development and has earned qb3. This is the year for super bowl.
I’ll eat my had AND your hat if Darnold leads the 49ers to a Super Bowl victory. And, like I said, if Lance can’t beat Darnold, then he’s garbage and should be allowed to walk after the season ends.
21-34 in those 55 games for Sudden Sam. Sure, a lot of that is the shit Jets teams he was on. But 61-55 TD/INT is a pretty awful rate. 58.6 comp %age last year put him at 51st among NFL QBs. Yeah, Purdy has a smaller sample size, but his numbers are MUCH better.
Darnold is prone to the bone head play trying to make something happen. In this offense he wouldn’t need those kinds of heroics, question is can he play within the offense.
Lance again was unimpressive. I saw Cohn’s verbal diareah about Shanny giving him too many throws compared to handoffs in order for him to fail but that’s garbage. Lance needs to throw a lot to get experience, trouble is he wasn’t able to do it effectively. O line wasn’t good blah, blah, blah. Darnold was way more poised under the same pressure.
I have it Purdy, Darnold, Lance at the moment. Lance has to be far better with his decision making speed and I don’t know how coaching can fix that without really restricting the play calling and going 1 read which itself won’t get him very far anyway.
Hopefully Lance turns it around in the next couple of preseason games but if I was Shanny I would now want to see Darnold in more extended play to see what he’s got.
Purdy is clearly not all the way back yet, fingers crossed he is by game 1 or QB 2 becomes a season making/breaking decision.
Just my 2c
Sudden Sam? That brings back memories of Sudden Sam Mcdowell. Didn’t we trade Bobby Bonds for him?
Brian Baldinger also has it Purdy, Darnold, Lance and says it’s not close between Darnold and Lance.
Since he’s around the team a lot I have to believe there is really something to it.
Titans’ 2nd yr QB Malik Willis made a big improvement after a dismal 3 games as a rookie. He sees the full field and processes faster.
Don’t give Cohn any of my time so I don’t know what he said, but Shanny did open with 9 passes in a row. And the line was terrible.
Lance should have a better grasp of things by now, but until the shit hits the fan and he’s out there for real, all this is just speculation. The way I would play it is give Purdy at least 4 series with the starters. Then give Lance 4 series with the starters. Then Darnold. If they want to split that among the last 2 games, fine. But play it like an actual game. Run some, pass some. Play the starters for at least a quarter on both sides of the ball.
But what has happened these last few seasons is we start slow and trip over our dicks while the rusty starters get their shit together. Can we start fast? I don’t know. I wonder if Purdy gets ANY playing time in the preseason.
We seem to be setting ourselves up for another slow start.
I need a longer dick so that I can tip over mine too! Just sayin’.
There usually is a preseason game where most of the starters play on the 1st drive at least they used to. I didn’t see any of Sunday’s game but from what I read Lance was pretty much overwhelmed. The reality is he has to show some real improvement to stick around. I hate the fact that we spent so much on him but the debt has been paid and you can never take decisions like that back. The 49ers have had a whole bunch of 1st rounders that never did much of anything. Good thing about the next draft is we have a full arsenal of picks. Anyway, I would like to see Lance in action with the 1st team before I would send him out the door.
Lance doesn’t have the luxury of shanalynch staff that can wait and be patient to rely on anymore. The super bowl window needs the stellar Trent Williams on the field.
The OT unit is weak until RT gets fixed. If Lance cannot up his game enough how about our 2024 1st plus Lance and picks to get us a franchise OT next April draft.
Meanwhile father time is working on Trent.
Shanahan is his own worst enemy. He out-thinks himself to the point of stifling our offense. His handling of Lance has been ridiculous. Like Shanny is stabbing himself in the back to go out of his way to make Lance look bad.
Shanny’s already got the stink of failure in big games on too many occasions to not acknowledge that. He’s the Marty Schottenheimer of the 2000’s. Until he gets over the hump, this will follow him. We are poised for another run at the Super Bowl and all the talk is around the turmoil for the #2 QB spot. And despite losing Brunskill and McGlinchey, did nothing to fix the line. And those backups looked great, didn’t they?
CHI 1st Rd #10 Darnell Wright RT is 6’5″ 335 lbs and is starting in their outside zone running game and pass pro rated ok at combine
At this point it looks like no one will be ready. Still early, but I fear another slow start.
I think the NFL is gearing up to get rid of preseason games entirely and go to an 18 game schedule with no preseason. Not sure when, but a 17 game schedule is dumb and will be replaced with an 18 game sched at some point in the near future.
They will probably just take away another preseason game. I think a lot of changes are on the horizon like going international. Pretty sure that’s why we are setting up shop in Mexico. Anyway, no one knows what we can do until our starters play.
Greg Papa:
“To me Darnold is clearly a better player than Trey Lance. It’s not close,” Papa said. “If they had to play a game, I think it’s Sam. And I think Sam can push Brock Purdy, honestly. They love Brock, and he processes fast. If Darnold gets this offense down, his throwing arm is elite. There is no doubt.”
This is exactly how I see it right now. Its Purdy presuming he comes into form or Darnold who is 1b not a number 2 in this offence. Lance hasn’t shown anything to date that makes him a reliable winning QB and he knows this offense better than Purdy or Darnold.
I am hoping Lance shows something in the next 2 games, but Darnold needs to play the first half of the next game or if Purdy gets a series or 2 then Darnold should follow. Lance and Allen looks like a closer competition than Darnold and Lance.
Wanted to pop in to say hello guys – Hoping to get back in the groove sooner than later. In the meantime….Things have changed
This song has been my new anthem for the last 12 years. I’ve posted it here multiple times. I’ve always posted the Bob Dylan version. I like this version too! “I used to care, but things have changed!”
Good to see you NJ. Every time I hear this one make me like Dylan even more than I do already.
Thanks Winder, life is a journey.
Just hanging on for the ride as it were.
This is a little bit rough from Lombardi:
“The reality of Trey Lance: if a play doesn’t goes the way he practiced, it breaks down. When his mom lifted him up from the crib, he didn’t have that QB instinct. He won’t win the backup QB spot based on what I’ve seen and heard.”
When the time comes we will accept the loss and move on. He is still so young I just don’t want to give up yet. Maybe being the third qb might shake something loose.
Agree its too early with Lance, his injuries soaked up a lot of his time to play, problem for him is he has to show something this year and he’s running out of time to do it.
Purdy threw another interception and almost a second again. If I’m Shanahan I play Purdy and Darnold in the Broncos game. Lance would get in in the 3rd and Allen in the 4th. Purdy needs the reps to get into form and Darnold because he’s the likely back up if Purdy isn’t ready. Lance is 3rd string injury insurance.
Will be interesting what they do with Allen, he might be too good for the PS, maybe try a trade.
Lance is sounding a lot like Colin Kaepernick. Thing is, though, Kaepernick had a good run when he was surrounded by good players. As Crabtree, VD, Gore and others left, he got shitty and panicky.
I don’t know. Until he gets a chance to play for an extended time on the field, this is all just guesswork.
Still and all I hope Purdy can stay upright all year. As we’ve seen, too many seasons have been derailed by injuries to our QBs.
Honestly I haven’t seen enough of Lance to draw a parallel with Kap yet. I was at an AZ SF game in Arizona and I was in line to get a couple of beers before the game started. By the time I sat down Kap had thrown 2 pick sixes. Needless to say the 9ers lost, but that was when I really knew Kap wasn’t going to make it, he played scared from then on.
I feel bad for Lance. The kid has had no real chance with live reps and the few we have seen were nothing special. Then along comes Purdy who played lights out until his injury.
The brain trust brought in Darnold because they either didn’t think Lance was going to be good enough or because he got hurt too much or both or maybe just because they go through so many injuries at QB.
The reality is Lance has had years in the offense and he is fully healthy. He should be blowing the doors off, yet Darnold in his first exposure to the system has outplayed him and its not close.
Nothing is ever set in stone, but as of right now I wouldn’t put money on Lance being a 9er next year.
If Purdy rounds into form or Darnold plays within the system I think they have a real shot at number 6.
Yeah, Lance should be showing more than he has. But he needs reps in games. We don’t have time for that now, but if Purdy went down, I think Darnold is the next man up at this point.
Agree
Tim Kawakami’s take on the QB’s including Jimmy G. I don’t thinknits behind the paywall:
https://theathletic.com/4767008/2023/08/16/49ers-qb-brock-purdy-trey-lance/
Lombardi with the ice pick.
He added, “He is not going to be the backup quarterback. I don’t know what they’re going to do with him. But there’s no chance. There is no chance based on the evidence that I’ve seen and based on what I’ve heard.”
Why is Lynch not blamed.
1st round QB’s is always a crapshoot, a high risk/reward deal and to be fair Lynch also drafted Purdy who is very promising so far.
If Purdy pans out it balances the Lance pick which up to this point hasn’t worked out.
Because Shanny is the GM. Lynch is a figurehead.
Lombardi doesn’t know jack shit. Lance isn’t doing himself any favors, but it looks like Lance is gonna get 3rd string duty this weekend so if he can’t show anything vs the scrubs, then he’s hot buttered toast.
I’m really interested in the 4th guy Brandon Allen, he sat behind Joe Burrow on the Bengals. It doesn’t sound like the Niners feel safe putting him on the practice squad and I can’t imagine them keeping 4 on the active 53.
If they think Allen and Lance are similar level QB’s then Kawakami may be right about them trying to trade Lance for a 4th.
Taking the cap hit and getting a 4th will not happen. We’ll see about Allen. As far as I know, he’s just a guy.
I’m putting a link to Greg Cosell analyzing Lance in the Raider pre season game:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DfKIFWIVRmjI&ved=2ahUKEwiU4s6ExuSAAxU7h-4BHU8yCKEQwqsBegQIEBAF&usg=AOvVaw3gOKr2Rg397G3BdbcKVCFV
Hopefully it works. If not he basically says Lance had guys open 3 or 4 times and just didn’t throw the ball. He says Shanahan can’t be happy about it.
Jesus. Kawakami sure likes to hear himself type. Vast speculation about what happened last year, mainly to fit Kawakami’s point of view, and the rest is obvious stuff.
Lance sticks around this year because he’s under contract. If he’s a wash, they don’t pick up his 5th year option. No cap hit, no damage. He’s worth little to nothing (a 4th rounder? Big deal) as trade bait now, plus he would cost $5.5 mill in dead cap space per the article, so there’s NO impetus to do it.
As far as the damage the trade has caused, it was mitigated by drafting Purdy and him being the starter. If he keeps playing well. We have our #1 pick next year, so there you are. Take a look at our failures in the drafts and call it a wash. That’s what this list is all about.
Lance needs game time. Nothing teaches guys about playing more than playing. His career has been beset with all kinds of external issues, and the fact he joined a team that was fully formed and ready to go all the way. But as we’ve seen he hasn’t gotten very much meaningful action. Even preseason doesn’t say anything. Ryan Leaf was a preseason marvel and promptly shit the bed. Lot’s of QBs have struggled coming into the league. Up to and including Josh Allen.
But, most high-draft-pick QBs come into the league on a team that is the current dregs of the league. Zack Wilson/Justin Fields, for instance. Both are struggling and both have not lived up to expectations.
Trevor Lawrence is doing alright despite his 4 int game in the playoffs that he overcame. And Mac Jones is on the outs with Belichick.
Some QBs can process what they see, and some can’t. How much playing time did Purdy need. For Garoppolo it was somewhere around his 3rd start. Lance doesn’t process what he sees very well. I’m rooting for him because we gave up 3 1st round picks for him. At his point, I am expecting him to be the all-time biggest draft best in NFL history.
Just watched the video and he said exactly what I said. The big diff here is that we are a team that is ready to win and he’s not getting the reps he would be if he was the savior. He’s no closer to the starting spot than he was 2 years ago. In fact he might be further away.
I fear the only way Lance gets playing time is if they all get hurt again.
Seeing as they refuse to do anything about the line . . .
From my understanding we can protect 5 0r 6 players a week on the practice squad so protecting Allen shouldn’t be to hard to do. I just can’t give up on Lance but he does have to play. A lot of people not associated with the Niners are really coming down hard on Lance but to me they are just full of it. I really dislike much of the media right now it’s all about sensationalism and seeing how much smoke they can blow out their ass. Really starting to get antsy for the season to start.
Yeah, it’s all about piling on with the media. Josh Allen looked shaky his first season on a fairly decent team. I don’t know. Sick of all the fucking chatter about it that’s for sure.
I hope Purdy gets out there and plays some on Saturday. Shanny is undecided at this point. He apparently had a good practice today.
I don’t want the first 2 games of the season to be his practice games.
And sign Bosa already.
New thread is up.