ESPN Analyst Shares A Bold Trey Lance Prediction

“My bold prediction for this season is that the 49ers represent the NFC and the Super Bowl,” Canty said. “That’s how confident I am in this 49ers team and the development of Trey Lance because of who’s doing it.

“Kyle Shanahan and what’s around them, the supporting cast; you’re talking about a top-five run game, a top-five skill position corps and a top-five defense. All the elements are there for Trey Lance to be successful.”

Canty even agreed with ESPN writer Bill Barnwell, who wrote in a recent article that Lance is apt to have an MVP-caliber season.

Saying Lance will have an MVP-caliber year in just his second season and his first as a starter seems like hyperbole right now, but predicting that the 49ers will be in the Super Bowl isn’t by any means.

The 49ers Are Loaded

Even if Lance doesn’t turn out to be much better than Garoppolo, he has the good fortune of being surrounded by plenty of difference-makers on both sides of the football.

He has All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who is armed with a new contract extension, plus wideout Brandon Aiyuk, whom many feel is poised for a breakout year.

George Kittle is one of the game’s best tight ends, with 910 yards and six touchdowns to his name last season despite missing three games, not to mention three Pro Bowl appearances.

Elijah Mitchell emerged as a very solid rookie running back last year, and Samuel proved to be very effective when used in the backfield late last season.

Defensively, the Niners have a Pro Bowl pass rusher in Nick Bosa, a very good linebacker in Fred Warner, and an upgrade at cornerback in Charvarius Ward.

Offensively, Garoppolo is a solid game manager and an above-average QB in general, but he isn’t very mobile, nor is he a dependable threat with the deep ball.

Lance, on the other hand, can turn nothing into something by using his legs to gain yardage, and he can connect with his receivers beyond 20 feet out.

Canty feels he will unlock the potential of San Francisco’s offense.

“The thing that Trey Lance brings is a couple of new dimensions to the offense,” Canty added. “The vertical passing game. We saw it in the preseason game with the bomb he threw to Danny Gray and then the quarterback as a focal point of the running game.

“[Head coach] Kyle Shanahan hasn’t had either one of those things since he got to San Francisco.”

The question with Lance seems to be how good he will be with making reads and passes in the short-to-medium-range game, as well as how effective he will be in the pocket and while pressured.

In last week’s preseason game, he showed a couple of glimpses of good pocket awareness and the ability to escape defensive pressure.