Will Trey Lance Boom or Bust in The NFL?

By: Tristan Schaar

After coming off of a tremendous 16-0 season, (FCS Champions) Trey Lance posted one of the most amazing stat lines of the college season. Lance throwing 28 touchdown passes with 0 interceptions and found himself rushing for 1,100 yards while tacking on 14 touchdowns. Trey also earned some hardware in his collegiate career. Trey won the Walter Peyton Award, Jerry Rice Award, and has been named the Most Outstanding Player in the 2020 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game.

Now let’s fast-forward to the 2020 season, the one that will matter the most, and cement his spot as being a high-profile draft pick in the 2021 draft. This was a very important season not for just Lance but for the NFL scouts to get their final notes in on the NDSU prodigy. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 outbreak throughout the world, many colleges were forced to cancel their athletic seasons including the Missouri Valley League (MVCS) which is NDSU’s conference. Thankfully the Bisons football program was able to set up a game for Trey as many call it “The Trey Lance Showcase”.

Let’s move to October 3rd, 2020 where North Dakota State faced off against the Central Arkansas Bears for one of the most anticipated college games of the year. This is the game where Trey Lance could show the scouts that he is the “real deal” and to give him that edge of solidifying his spot at being a main pick in the 2021 draft. Trey did not disappoint, he would end up throwing for 149 yards and 2 touchdowns (1 interception) and would also get it done on the ground while racking up 143 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on 15 attempts. 

Now yes, it is hard to tell off of a one-game season whether Trey will be a star in the NFL, but we all have to look at it in a certain way. Lance had a tremendous 2019 season and this is something that the scouts have to take into consideration. Don’t get me wrong he is nowhere near the caliber of Clemson’s QB Trevor Lawrence yet, but I feel like he is a Top-4 QB in the class.

Lance has a lot of upside for a QB now in today’s NFL. He’s a guy who can sling the ball downfield but can also pick up the 1st with his legs. I personally have Lance getting drafted between the 7-15 picks with teams that I believe are the perfect fit are the Carolina Panthers (8), San Francisco 49ers (13), and the New England Patriots grabbing him at pick (15). These teams are struggling the most at the quarterback position currently and could use Lance as a huge boost to help out with their situation and allow them to start off fresh with a new QB1.