The 49ers made Trey Lance the third overall pick in the draft after he started just 17 games at North Dakota State. So they traded him to the Cowboys after he started just four games in San Francisco. Lance never shrugged off a disadvantage in his first year with the Cowboys, so there isn’t much to evaluate him yet. But coach Mike McCarthy likes what he sees this offseason.
McCarthy said Lance is “definitely” a better quarterback compared to where he was when he arrived in Dallas last year, and that his work in learning the Cowboys’ offense has been excellent.
“The young quarterback comes into a new system, so you have the learning curve, but now you start to understand the timing of routes,” McCarthy said. “He’s close to being a master of the system. He has a very high understanding. He’s communicating very well. He seems more and more comfortable. He just needs reps. I know I say that every time I talk about him. He just needs as many reps as he can.”
Lance probably won’t do much in Dallas, as he is behind not only Dak Prescott but also Cooper Rush on the depth chart. But all he can do now is work in the off-season, and McCarthy says that’s what he’s doing. Maybe someday Lance will actually get some significant playing time.