Why Trey Lance Working Out with Patrick Mahomes is a Big Deal
Don't write off Trey Lance just yet.
He currently is working out and throwing with Patrick Mahomes and his personal passing coach, Jeff Christensen. We know this because clips of their sessions have been posted to social media, which clearly shows Lance has been working on his throwing mechanics.
You can see Lance is releasing the ball with his throwing arm fully extended, unlike in the past, which is a good thing. He used to lock out his front leg prematurely, release the ball near his ear and then muscle it to his target, which led to inaccuracy and arm fatigue. His throwing motion was violent and required lots of effort. You could almost hear him grunt.
Now, he's learning to let his lower body do the work for him, which means his throwing motion suddenly seems more fluid and effortless, like Mahomes.
And Lance is learning all this from Mahomes' coach, who happened to mentor Jimmy Garoppolo in high school. Remember, Garoppolo initially was a pitcher and a middle linebacker until his Varsity football coach saw him throw a football. Then, the coach sent Garoppolo to Christensen, who taught Garoppolo his quick release. Christensen is the main reason Garoppolo is an NFL quarterback who has made more than $120 million in his career.
Now Christensen gets to work with Lance, who's much more gifted than Garoppolo ever was, and Lance seems fully bought in. As opposed to former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who infamously said he wasn't "huge on mechanics."
Lance certainly seems huge on mechanics, which is important. And he seems to have the right coach, which also is important. And he gets to work out with Mahomes, the best quarterback in the world, which couldn't hurt. So who knows, maybe Lance will experience the same dramatic growth that Jalen Hurts did last year.
We'll find out when OTAs begin in May.
