For all intents and purposes, the 2021 NFL Draft will begin when Roger Goodell announces, “the San Francisco 49ers are now on the clock.”
Nobody knows who the 49ers will be taking with the No. 3 overall pick. All we know is that they will be selecting a quarterback. Will it be Mac Jones, Justin Fields, or Trey Lance? That’s the million dollar question.
San Francisco made a massive trade jumping from the No. 12 to No. 3 in a trade with the Miami Dolphins. When the 49ers made that deal, they did so with a quarterback in mind. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Niners were comfortable selecting Jones with the third overall pick and it was almost a lock, but now the decision has become a little more difficult.
Michael Silver of the NFL Network also mentioned that the 49ers were targeting Jones when they made the trade, but Lance and Fields have made things interesting. Ultimately, Silver expects Jones to be the selection.
Kyle Shanahan appeared at Trey Lance’s second Pro Day and pretty much ran the show. Lance ran plays and concepts from the 49ers’ playbook while other teams watched the private workout.
Back on April 21, Ian Rapoport of The NFL Network reported that San Francisco had a leader in the clubhouse and were looking to confirm that after Lance’s Pro Day. Rapoport ultimately believed Jones will still be the pick at No. 3.
Earlier this week Matt Barrows of The Athletic said that he’s talked to four sources and all believe that the 49ers will select Ohio St. quarterback Justin Fields. Barrows did add that it’s clear nobody really knows what San Francisco will do at three.
Rich Eisen even threw his name into the hat saying that the 49ers are targeting Lance.
Over the weekend it had been reported that the 49ers would narrow the field down to just two quarterbacks and the news would eventually come from Rapoport that San Francisco narrowed it down to just Jones and Lance.
On Monday, Albert Breer mentioned that he wouldn’t be shocked if Trey Lance has become the pick for the 49ers while Peter King of NBC Sports thinks it’s Mac Jones.
Todd McShay of ESPN did a piece earlier this week and said that he’s hearing that San Francisco is split on quarterbacks right now with many people in the personnel department advocating for Lance and his upside. McShay mentioned that Shanahan is a big fan of Jones, but might “acquiesce” to the scouting department for Lance.
To top it all off, Tom Pelissero reported that Jones is the favorite inside of the building and general managers around the league believe Jones will be the pick, but the team is still working on Lance.
Now to my sources.
For what it’s worth, I’ve spoken to two people that have told me that the 49ers are targeting Lance with the third overall pick. Once source said that it wouldn’t make sense for San Francisco to trade all of the way up for a guy like Jones, when they can have a playmaker like Lance. That source also said, “don’t believe all of the hype with Jones and the 49ers.”
At the end of the day, the 49ers will make their selection early Thursday night and change everyone’s draft boards completely. When the 49ers make the call to send in the card that the commissioner will read, arguably the best offensive mind in the NFL in head coach Kyle Shanahan will be making the final decision on which quarterback he thinks will give him the best opportunity to getting back to the promised land.
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