2023-06-30 07:00:00
Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, Kyle Juszczyk, Trent Williams: The San Francisco 49ers’ offense is filled with superstars. In addition, there is the best defense in the NFL around Nick Bosa and Fred Warner. That alone makes them the favorite in the NFC alongside the Philadelphia Eagles. The big question mark remaining is quarterback position.
On the other hand, the 49ers have shown in recent years that you don’t need an elite quarterback to play successful football. They have reached at least the NFC Championship Game three times in the last four years. In 2019 they were even in the Super Bowl. However, they have not been able to win the Lombardi Trophy since 1994.
Most recently, they failed in the championship game once morest the Philadelphia Eagles in a game in which the 49ers were temporarily without a regular quarterback following injuries to Brock Purdy and backup Josh Johnson.
Earlier in the season, Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo were both out with serious injuries, making Purdy the only starter.
The 49ers are going into the new season with Brock Purdy, Trey Lance and Sam Darnold. It is not yet clear which of the three starters will be. What speaks for and once morest the individual QBs?
Brock Purdy
Purdy was picked as the last draft pick (Mr. Irrelevant) by the 49ers in 2022. When Jimmy Garoppolo was injured in Week 13, the Iowa State rookie took over and started Week 14, winning all of his regular season starts and leading the 49ers into the NFC Championship Game, where he only contributed four pass attempts due to the aforementioned injury might.
With this hitherto impressive winning streak and his good chemistry with the receiving corps, Purdy has good arguments for being a starter in the coming season as well. The only thing that stands in his way is his elbow injury.
But if his recovery goes smoothly, he should be fit in time for the start of the season.
Trey Lance
Lance was drafted a year ahead of Purdy as the franchise quarterback-designate at number three in the draft. The 49ers saw great potential in him and invested a total of three first-round picks and one third-round pick as part of a trade-up.
Trey Lance has tremendous athletic potential. But the big question mark before the draft was his lack of gaming experience. He started in just 17 games for North Dakota State University before submitting to the 2021 draft following a one-game junior season. In San Francisco, too, he only made four starts in two years following injuring himself in week 2 of last season and missing the rest of the season.
In what has been a good offseason so far – including training with Patrick Mahomes – Trey Lance is said to have improved significantly and 49ers fans are hoping that he can finally show his potential.
Sam Darnold
Like Lance, Darnold is a former #3 overall pick. He was drafted by the New York Jets in 2018 but failed to live up to expectations there, most recently starting 17 games in two years for the Carolina Panthers. He has by far the most experience of the 49ers quarterbacks.
While he hasn’t had a chance to show himself as a franchise quarterback yet, he might finally take his career to the next level in Kyle Shanahan’s quarterback-friendly system.
Who do the Niners bet on?
All three quarterbacks still have room for improvement. In Shanahan’s system and with this supporting cast it almost doesn’t matter who starts at the end. Still, there is a favourite. According to general manager John Lynch, Brock Purdy currently holds the seat of starter. If he recovers well from his injury, there is probably no way around him.
While it would be exciting to see what else might become of Trey Lance, it’s unlikely to see him as a starter next season.
The Super Bowl window is wide open, so there’s probably no time for experiments. A Brock Purdy in last year’s form is all it takes for San Francisco to finally be crowned Super Bowl champ.
Louis Glatzel
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