Seven 49ers That Benefit the Most From Trey Lance Starting
Trey Lance brings a new dynamic to the offense of the 49ers.
His mobility and arm power should see the 49ers ascend in ways that were never imaginable the past few years. The offense as a whole will benefit greatly from him if he pans out well, but there are some more than others who will reap the rewards heavier.
Here are seven 49ers that benefit the most from Lance starting.
George Kittle
Now that Kittle actually has a quarterback who can throw it all over the field, he has a chance to duplicate his 2018 season. Kittle hasn’t gone over 1,000 yards receiving since 2019. Injuries have played a role in that, but so has inadequacies from the quarterbacks he’s had. Kittle wasn’t much of a targeted receiver last year, especially toward the end of the season. He averaged around four targets per game in the last four weeks. A bulk of his stats came in a two-game span against the Seahawks in Week 13 and the Bengals in Week 14.
So his stats are juiced up in a few games, while the rest are average. That’s a Kyle Shanahan issue that likely stems from him not having faith in Garoppolo to hit him well beyond the line of scrimmage. Having Lance as the starter should see Kittle start to be that dominant receiver again and on a more consistent basis. That will be achievable primarily if Kittle doesn’t miss his usual three to six games and if Lance proves to Shahan that he can let him drop back and sling it.
Deebo Samuel
One of the reasons that Samuel made a trade demand from the 49ers is due to usage. Well, now he has the quarterback to give him the demand he wants, which is to remain strictly as a wide receiver. Most of the impact and productive plays out of Samuel have always come around the line of scrimmage or middle of the field. His usage was capped due to the limitations of Garoppolo.
That shouldn’t be the case with Lance. Just look at how Samuel was used against the Texans when Lance started. He scored on a deep pass play with relative ease. The difference in having a quarterback who can actually throw deep is stark. Suddenly, Samuel will see more targets and receptions in areas of the field that he hasn’t seen much in his whole career.
Aaron Banks
It could be tough sledding for Banks throughout the season. Should that be the case, he will have the luxury of having Lance as the starting quarterback. Rather than having a statue as the starter, Banks now has a quarterback who can maneuver around the pocket and scramble away from pressure. So in the case when Banks gets beat, Lance can escape a sack. It’ll still look bad on his part for putting Lance in a flustered position, but it’s better than an allowed sack. Plus, a sack is just more demoralizing than simply getting beat. Like salt in the wound essentially and that would only hurt his confidence.
Brandon Aiyuk
There are plenty of instances last year where Aiyuk was running wide open and Garoppolo failed to see him. Aiyuk would get animated in frustration because of that and who could blame him? That should all change with Lance as the starter. The two already have shown a great rapport with each other, especially away from the facility. That’ll go a long way in their connection for an actual game. Aiyuk is a player who is primed for a breakout season because of Lance. Defenses are not going to key in on Aiyuk as they will for Samuel or even Kittle. This is where building a strong synchronization with Lance will help because he will be in a ton of one-on-one situations. And by the looks of things, the two appear to be strong in that department.
Kyle Juszczyk
I cannot get the visual of Juszczyk being wide open against the Titans out of my head. How Garoppolo missed him is exactly a reason why the 49ers drafted Lance. They need someone to take advantage of the beautiful drawn up plays by Shanahan and execution like Juszczyk showcased on that play. Now when he goes to run similar plays like that, he should be able to connect with Lance. Juszczyk absolutely loves having his number dialed up. As soon as he sees how improved quarterback is with Lance — he’ll only want the ball more. In fact, I could even see Shanahan start to line Juszczyk up as a receiver again like he did in 2019.
Elijah Mitchell
There was zero success for Elijah Mitchell running the football in the playoffs, especially in the NFC championship game. Playoff caliber teams will sell out for the run by loading up the box to force the 49ers to throw. That is an indictment on Garoppolo as defenses do not fear him. They'll live with him somehow getting some plays off because more times than not he will fail. And that is what he did in the Championship game. With Lance at the helm, defenses will have to worry about him keeping the ball on play action and chucking it deep.
This is where the 49ers need to incorporate Lance early on to build his confidence and force a defense to play more honestly. Doing so will help Mitchell run into normal fronts instead of overloaded ones. Suddenly, he will have more opportunities to rip off larger gains and on a more consistent basis. All Lance has to do is deliver a few deep bombs to begin the year, then defenses will have to always account for it. Overloaded boxes won't outright go away, but there should be a decrease if Lance threatens downfield.
Kyle Shanahan
Last, but not least is the head coach. Kyle Shanahan would have to go above and beyond to configure the offense because of quarterback limitations. There's a reason the 49ers are always at the top in utilizing motions and shifts on offense. Shanahan needs to do all of that to get a defense in a look that is favorable to his limited quarterback. He even needs to do that when running the football since defenses tend to sell out for it. That should start to change with Lance.
Now, Shanahan will still have a lot of motions and shifts, but the best part is there is not as much pressure for him to do so or to make the perfect play call. If Shanahan doesn't sequence the right plays, then the offense would become stagnant. He's never had a quarterback who could burden the weight of the offense on their shoulders. Lance should end up being that guy. At the very least, Lance can take a play into backyard football if a play doesn't work out and salvage it. The offensive plays no longer are solely on Shanahan. Lance now can take some of that responsibility as he's capable to operate off the script.
