San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, unexpectedly, had his rookie quarterback, Trey Lance, running the football a lot in his first NFL start, a Week 5 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. Lance had 16 carries for 89 yards in the 17-10 defeat. During his second start, a Week 17 victory over the Houston Texans, the game plan cut the young quarterback's carries in half.
Everyone figures the 49ers offense will look different with Lance at the helm, replacing the team's starter of the last four-and-a-half seasons, Jimmy Garoppolo.
Master evaluator Greg Cosell recently sat down with Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. The interview was released in the latest 49ers Talk podcast. Most expect Garoppolo to be traded in the coming weeks, leaving Lance as the starter in 2022. Obviously, predicting what a Lance-helmed Shanahan offense might look like is a worthwhile topic of discussion.
Are Lance's two starts any indication of what the 49ers coach might deploy in the years to come? What of that odd Week 5 game plan, filled with designed quarterback runs? The Buffalo Bills often get away with similar efforts, utilizing the athletic ability of their star quarterback, Josh Allen. Is that something that Shanahan envisions for Lance?
"It's in your arsenal, and I think that will be part of what Kyle does with Trey Lance because it is a weapon," Cosell told Maiocco. "Just like I think there will be more designed boot action with Trey Lance than you see with Garoppolo. Garoppolo is not a great thrower on the run. Trey Lance will be better than that. Obviously, Trey Lance brings the secondary action scrambling ability to the table, which Garoppolo did not have.
"I think it's just a classic case of Garoppolo was an executor, and Lance just gives you more. And I think you will see those elements in the offense, and I think that will be a game-by-game deal. It will be game-by-game in the sense of how they game plan for a specific team, and then game-by-game, throughout a game, as the game is flowing along, seeing how it goes."
One thing that makes Allen so difficult to defend is his size. At 6-foot-5 and over 235 pounds, seeing the Bills quarterback running at you can be more intimidating than seeing the average quarterback doing so. While Lance stands an inch shorter than Allen, and isn't as stout, the analyst doesn't feel the 49ers quarterback's physical attributes shouldn't be overlooked.
"Lance just gives you more, I think," Cosell said. "… Lance is not quite as big [as Allen], but Lance is a big guy, and I think that's kind of lost a little bit. Obviously, no one wants their quarterback running a lot, but Lance is not a small man. He's not a whispy guy, so I think they'll feel that can be part of what they do."
Cosell expects to see a very different 49ers offense with Lance under center. He completed 57.7 percent of his passes for 603 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions through six game appearances and two starts as a rookie. Lance also carried the football 38 times for 168 rushing yards and a score.
"Offensively, you have to believe they'll be improved—or different," Cosell continued. "I shouldn't say improved because we don't know. Lance is still a prospect in many respects, so I think the offense will look different. Ideally, it will be better because Lance gives you more dimensions."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Cosell below.