Analyzing Day 9 of the 2023 49ers QB Competition

SANTA CLARA -- Here's what Trey Lance, Sam Darnold and Brandon Allen did on Day 9 of 49ers training camp. Keep in mind, Brock Purdy had the day off to rest his surgically-repaired arm.

TREY LANCE

Completed 8 of 12 pass attempts total and 6 of 9 passes with the first-string offense. His best throw was a 25-yard touchdown pass to Willie Snead in the back-left corner of the end zone. Snead was running a fade route against Samuel Womack, who had excellent coverage. Lance placed the pass low and behind Womack, and Snead reached out and snagged it as he fell on his back. This was the final play of practice. Lance's worst throw was a deep pass to Deebo Samuel, who was wide open -- he was running a fade up the right sideline and had at least three steps on Charvarius Ward. But Lance's pass was low, and it overshot the target. Most of his deep passes have been low since he started working with Jeff Christensen. The rest of the day Lance mostly dinked and dunked. Which means he was okay. Nothing special. Just like Brock Purdy, the quarterback Kyle Shanahan says is the "real deal." With Lance under center, the offense didn't miss a beat.

SAM DARNOLD

Complete 8 of 13 pass attempts total and 4 of 6 passes with the first-string offense. His best throw was a 15-yard completion to Danny Gray running a deep curl on 3rd and 12. Darnold's worst throw was hard to pick. It could have been the deep throw to Ray Ray McCloud that sailed behind the receiver and landed incomplete. Or it could have been the deep throw to Brandon Aiyuk that hung in the air forever and allowed Tashaun Gipson to run 40 yards and break up the pass after a coverage bust left Aiyuk wide open running a corner route. Or it could have been the short pass Darnold made while scrambling that missed Jauan Jennings when he was completely uncovered. Any time Darnold has to move or throw a pass that isn't short or over the middle, he's simply terrible. The worst quarterback on the team.

BRANDON ALLEN

Completed 6 of 8 pass attempts, and threw the best pass of training camp. No joke. It was a 35-yard deep pass to Willie Snead, and it soared majestically through the air, split two defenders and hit Snead perfectly in stride. No other quarterback on the team could have thrown this pass as well -- especially not Brock Purdy. He has attempted this throw many times in camp, and each time he has telegraphed it and underthrown it. Allen is the best deep thrower on the team. He's similar to Brian Hoyer, who was a phenomenal deep passer for the 49ers in training camp of 2017. Then the real games started, and he crumbled under the pressure. Allen could be similar. But today, he was excellent. Respect.