Trey Lance is excited about the opportunity to join the San Francisco 49ers. He was the No. 3 overall pick, and the young quarterback knows it is a unique situation. Most teams selecting at the top of the draft are doing so because the roster lacks an abundance of talent. That isn't the case for the Niners, who are just over a year removed from a Super Bowl appearance.
San Francisco had a championship-caliber roster last season. Injuries just decimated its depth. This offseason, the team brought back most of the players it wanted back. With some good luck on the injury front, Lance is walking into a better situation than most who were drafted in the top five. The team, after all, traded up to get him. And, it already has a veteran quarterback ahead of him, taking some of the pressure — for now — off of him.
"I'm in a really unique situation, playing quarterback," Lance told 49ers team reporter Keiana Martin during a one-on-one inside Levi's Stadium on Friday. "Not only that, but being drafted as early as I did, and them trading up to draft me with a Super Bowl roster, really. I'm super thankful to not only the coaching staff, the organization, for believing in me.
"Obviously, I know a lot about [the situation], and it's hard not to. The coaching staff, coach (Kyle) Shanahan, or the players on this roster, like I said, it's a special place, and I'm very fortunate to be in the position that I'm in."
George Kittle reached out to Lance to welcome him to the team on Friday morning. However, the first player the young quarterback heard from was Jimmy Garoppolo, who will serve as a mentor during the upcoming season.
Eventually, the plan is to have Lance take over for Garoppolo, which, one would think, creates an awkward situation between the two. But everything out of Santa Clara states that Garoppolo is acting very professionally about the situation, and Lance feels welcomed by the veteran quarterback.
"All I've heard are just awesome things about the type of person he is, and obviously, what he does on the field kind of speaks for itself," Lance said of Garoppolo. "But it meant the world to me and my family, especially, that he reached out to me and sent that message. It was really encouraging for me just to know that we'll be able to have an awesome relationship. And I just told him I'm super excited to learn from him.
"I know he's going to be an awesome mentor, like I said, for me. I'm super excited to just be around him."
Lance has a lot to learn in the coming months, so it is good that the 49ers have a veteran in Garoppolo to lead the stacked roster this season. Quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello reportedly has already started working with Lance to ingrain the team's playbook and system into the rookie's mind. That started on Saturday.
"So, I'm super excited to learn," Lance added. "Like I said, my biggest thing is learn from Coach Scangarello, Coach Shanahan, and Jimmy."