49ers quarterback Trey Lance has been taking some heat in the national media in the wake of his performance against the Raiders in San Francisco’s preseason opener.
Given Lance’s draft status as the No. 3 overall pick in 2021 — who the 49ers traded up to select — Lance’s performances are always going to be under the microscope. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Wednesday that the quarterback understands that and hasn’t let it get to him.
“Trey is extremely smart, very socially aware. He knows how the world works,” Shanahan said, via NBCSportsBayArea.com. “So, he does his best — which I think he does a damn good job of — [in] trying to block all that out and focus on getting better. I think that’s what he’s done so far.”
Shanahan also reiterated that as a top pick, heavy criticism goes with the territory.
“It goes with it for quarterbacks, it goes with it for anybody who’s a high draft pick, but especially a quarterback,” Shanahan said. “That’s one of the tough things for that position but also high draft picks. I mean, you watch receivers come in the league and they have a few drops early in camp and it becomes a lot of pressure on them. People want to see those people take off and do it right away and have no flaws. And that’s just part of it.”
Lance is in a particularly tough position because he suffered a season-ending injury just two games into his tenure as a starter last year. And then seventh-round rookie Brock Purdy eventually came in and led the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game, securing his place as San Francisco’s QB1 entering 2023.
After last week’s performance, we’ll see if Lance looks any better when the 49ers host the Broncos for a preseason matchup on Saturday evening.
