Trey Lance spent most of 2021, his rookie NFL season, absorbing whatever knowledge he could. The former No. 3 overall pick entered the league with only one full season of starting experience at the collegiate level. Last season, he started just two games with the San Francisco 49ers.
Now, the expectation is that Lance will be the 49ers' starting quarterback for the foreseeable future.
"He QB1, so he's the face of the franchise," cornerback Charvarius Ward told reporters on Tuesday. "He's going to show the world this season, I think."
Lance has his share of skeptics, especially among the national media. Many question the quarterback's readiness to lead a roster overflowing with talent. It's a roster primed to make another playoff run, assuming Lance can limit his mistakes and continue to impress his teammates as a leader.
"He's taking huge steps in the offseason," tackle Trent Williams said after seeing Lance practice for the first time on Tuesday. Until this week, Williams had been training away from the team.
He added, "I can't wait to see how he looks when the live bullets get flying."
Ward and Williams aren't the only ones confident in the 22-year-old player. A certain Hall of Fame quarterback and 49ers legend believes Lance already has the mental capacity to thrive in the NFL. He just needs to put everything else together.
"Actually, he's processing as well as anybody," Steve Young said last week via Bay Area News Group. "He can understand what's happening. He can figure out who [is open]. And that's a real talent. That's not easy. That's not just given. There's a real skill there. So I have 100 percent confidence that Trey will figure out where to throw it.
"The challenge for Trey is, once he knows, then how to deliver it. That's another great talent that you have to have and develop. So for me, it's the accuracy that comes with [things] as he shows his processing power. I think his body will respond, and he'll find the open guys and figure it out. And then it gives you a confidence to deliver it."
Lance is working with another 49ers legend, Jerry Rice, on the business side of things. The young quarterback signed on to help sponsor G.O.A.T. Fuel, an energy drink co-founded by Rice. Through Rice, Lance had an opportunity to speak with Young.
"We got to talk a decent amount, yeah," Lance said of his interactions with Young. "Obviously, with a guy like that, it means the world anytime he says anything about me. I have nothing but respect for a guy like that. Everything that he's done, and him having been in this building and played for this organization, I'm going to take everything I possibly can from a guy like that. Anything he has to say, anything he has to offer me, I'm welcoming that with open arms."
Lance continued to speak with Young through team events. In addition, the two exchanged phone numbers. Through that continued communication, Young feels he understands Lance's strengths and what he still needs to improve.
"So more than anything, it's delivering the ball to the open guy over and over and over again, and getting that confidence, because that's the spot he needs to work on," Young said. "This is more of a throwing thing than it is a mind thing. Some guys have mind things. Some guys have both. But Trey has a really sharp processing mind, and I think that's going to take him a long way."
What were the biggest takeaways Lance got from his interactions with Young?
"He's talked about just being myself and confidence, I think were the two main things," Lance said.
