Andy Reid gets to work with one of the NFL's best quarterbacks day in and day out in Patrick Mahomes, and also has coached Alex Smith, Donovan McNabb and Brett Favre over his NFL career. After last night's preseason opener between Reid's Kansas City Chiefs and the 49ers, the head coach said San Francisco got a good one in No. 3 overall draft pick Trey Lance.
“Ah, you're in good hands. Yeah, he's a good player," Reid told reporters after the Chiefs' 19-16 win over the 49ers at Levi's Stadium. "He looked very poised, composed, and he had a nice play on the firecracker there that he shot down the field.”
That "firecracker" Reid is referring to was the 80-yard touchdown Lance unleashed in the first quarter to Trent Sherfield.
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Lance wound up finishing 5-for-14 passing with 128 yards and that one touchdown. The rookie had a trio of drops from his receivers, and also was sacked four times as the Chiefs' fierce pass rush came ready to play.
RELATED: Lance electrifies, hits home run in 49ers' exhibition opener
There's no sense in reading too much into a single preseason game, but Lance got the chance to demonstrate his top-line arm strength and athleticism within the pocket.
San Francisco 49ers
Reid likely is familiar with the internal dialogue 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan is living through at the moment, as he too had a top-10 draft pick QB come in to compete with a successful incumbent veteran when Mahomes joined Smith in KC's quarterback room.
The situations are not parallel, and this isn't an insinuation that Lance is or will be as talented right away as Mahomes was. Reid gave Mahomes his chance in Year 2, and the rest is history.
Whether that history will repeat itself with Jimmy Garoppolo and Lance remains to be seen, but clearly the rookie's first live scenario in the NFL impressed not just fans and analysts across the league, but also one of its top coaches and offensive minds.