The Trey Lance hype machine won't be slowing down anytime soon.
The 49ers' rookie quarterback got his first taste of NFL action Saturday night in San Francisco's preseason opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, and didn't take long to show why he was selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. On the first play of his second series, Lance uncorked a deep bomb off play action for an 80-yard touchdown to receiver Trent Sherfield.
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SIGN UP HERE After he picked his jaw up off the floor, 49ers general manager John Lynch, who made the decision to trade multiple first-round picks for the ability to select Lance, explained what he liked about the play, aside from the obvious.
"First of all, things don't just happen in this league," Lynch said on the TV broadcast. "Trent Sherfield, every day in practice has been making a big play. I kinda like that Trey Lance passed up an open [Brandon] Aiyuk underneath and said uh-uh, I'm taking it downtown. What a throw."
RELATED: Staley, NFL Twitter reacts to Lance's 80-yard touchdown pass
Lance has been performing well in training camp, pushing Jimmy Garoppolo for the starting job. He has looked like a much more advanced player than the one who attended OTAs this summer, and the 49ers are very pleased with his dedication to the task.
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"Kyle [Shanahan]'s offense is a vast one," Lynch continued. "Just calling these plays is a difficult task. He really mastered that. I think that freed his mind to let him go play the position, where we believe he's got great instincts, and those have been showing."
Lance entered the preseason opener behind Garoppolo in the pecking order. But the gap continues to shrink with plays like that.