At least Joe Montana agrees with me about Trey Lance

In the fall of 2020, I gave quarterback Trey Lance a 5-6 round grade after reviewing film. 

Prior to the NFL draft, and after watching Lance’s pro days, I changed my grade on him to an undraftable free agent. It is all time and date stamped on Draft Diamonds.

I took a lot of heat on social media. I was the only voice in America, saying this kind of stuff last spring. 

Nobody wanted to hear what I had to say. 

49ers’ head coach Kyle Shanahan and team general manager (GM), John Lynch were two of the people who did not want to hear what I had to say. 

They gave up not one…not two, but three number one picks for Lance. 

They gave a king’s ransom for someone who I saw as a practice squad prospect. 

Well, now others are finally starting to see what I have been able to see all along. I finally have the legendary Joe Montana on my side (click here to see Montana’s thoughts). 

Montana thinks the 49ers should have drafted Mac Jones (my QB2) I really liked Jones as well. I said back on September 1 that the 49ers screwed up not taking Jones (click here to read article).  I said it way before Montana even said it. I said it two months before Montana said it. 

Basically what Shanahan and Lynch have done, is sell this franchise down the river for a player who is nothing more than a erratic option quarterback. 

Shanahan and Lynch could have brought in any number of free agent prospects to run Shanahan’s “vaunted” two-quarterback attack that everyone raved about that has amounted to San Francisco’s current 3-4 record. 

Of course, this is no surprise, underneath all the injury excuses, all Shanahan and Lynch have been able to produce previously is three out of four losing seasons. In fact, the only winning season they had was because of the quarterback they are desperately trying to replace, Jimmy Garoppolo. 

I said back on October 5, that Lance will get Shanahan fired, and when he and Lynch do get fired for the gross misevaluation of Lance, I am proposing to Mr. York to become the next general manger of the San Francisco 49ers. I am also proposing to name Joe Montana as my assistant GM. 

I have a plan that will win the Super Bowl (100 percent commission Super Bowl victory or bust deal) for the 49ers next season, and I would like the best player in the history of the organization right there by my side making it happen. 

I grew up watching Montana play, and if anyone knows how to come back, it is him. It is also because of watching guys like Montana play, that I knew it was a joke drafting Lance in the first round and trading the future of the franchise to do so.

I have nothing against Lance personally, he is just taking advantage of Shanahan and Lynch’s inability to evaluate. 

The bone I have to pick is with Shanahan and Lynch, and I think it is time the San Francisco media hold them accountable and demand answers on behalf of the 49ers’ nation, in every press conference until they are fired. 

Here are the documented date-stamped time line on my evaluations of Trey Lance: 

https://nfldraftdiamonds.com/2021/03/trey-lance-20/

https://nfldraftdiamonds.com/2021/04/trey-lance-22/

https://nfldraftdiamonds.com/2021/08/trey-lance-23/

https://nfldraftdiamonds.com/2021/08/trey-lance-24/

https://nfldraftdiamonds.com/2021/08/trey-lance-25/

https://nfldraftdiamonds.com/2021/08/trey-lance-bust/

https://nfldraftdiamonds.com/2021/09/trey-lance-bust-2/

https://nfldraftdiamonds.com/2021/09/trey-lance-throw-chart/

https://nfldraftdiamonds.com/2021/09/trey-lance-easy-to-defeat-bust/

https://nfldraftdiamonds.com/2021/10/trey-lance-26/

As I have said before, there is a reason why Shanahan even developed this two-quarterback system to begin with. It is called buying time. There is a reason why the 49ers’ did not get rid of their veteran quarterback security blanket like the Jaguars and the Jets did. 

There is a reason why the 49ers’ have hung on to Jimmy G. 

The reason is, from the first day of training camp, from the first time Shanahan and Lynch actually saw Lance throw at their team facility, they realized they had made a grave mistake – – and they have been trying to cover it up ever since. Actions speak louder than words. The whole reason they even drafted Lance was to try to buy more time and be able to sell more hype to cover up for their inability to build a consistent winner. Injuries are not a valid excuse. Injuries only become an attempted excuse when the reserves lose and the people who picked them are exposed. 

It ends now. 

Am I wrong Coach Shanahan? Is Joe Montana wrong too ? 

Prove us wrong. Start Lance. Name Lance your starting quarterback the rest of the season. I dare you. 

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He currently writes for Sports Illustrated Detroit Lions and he is a contributing evaluator for Draft Diamonds. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @danielkellybook and his Facebook page is WHATEVER IT TAKES NFL TALK.