Earlier this month, Trey Lance’s quarterbacks coach, Jeff Christensen, revealed in an interview with Matt Barrows of The Athletic that Lance has made a “substantial jump” this offseason in large part thanks to working with Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes.
Lance broke his silence for the first time since having the opportunity to work out with the reigning NFL MVP.
“Being able to be around Patrick was awesome,” Lance said this week, via Matt Maiocco of NBCSportsBayArea.com. “Just picking his brain, learning about just the type of guy he is, how he spends his free time, offseason, and then more about his in-season schedule as well.”
After being around Mahomes, Lance has been able to make what his quarterback’s coach calls a substantial jump in his game. And you’d be hard-pressed to find a better quarterback for Lance to learn under than Mahomes.
While he spent most of the season sidelined with an injury, he used it as an opportunity to see how Jimmy Garoppolo and Brock Purdy went about their business.
“I learned a ton,” Lance said. “I was able to focus on the right things. Just having a better idea, even better this year coming into year three of what is expected of me, how to run the offense, being able to watch Jimmy and Brock play at such a high level.”
Lance, who doesn’t have a lot of tread on his tires himself, is the elder statesman of the 49ers’ quarterbacks room. While the 23-year-old is the same age as Purdy and younger than Sam Darnold, he’s been with San Francisco the longest. So, he doesn’t have the same luxury to learn from a veteran quarterback who’s had a lot of success in this league, like Mahomes.
While Lance hasn’t played much due to injury and other circumstances, Purdy and Darnold may have the upper hand in the quarterback competition as it stands. He’s largely struggled with his accuracy through his first two NFL seasons and perhaps tightening his throwing mechanics and leaning into working with Mahomes can alleviate some of those issues.
Lance remains something of a blank canvas. While he looks the part, he’s running out of time to prove himself, even though he was once the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Only time will tell if working with Mahomes can help Lance reach some of that untapped potential.
[The Athletic, NBC Sports Bay Area]
