When Trey Lance was pressed into his first NFL start in Week 5 of his rookie season, it was clear what coach Kyle Shanahan thought gave the 49ers the best chance to win at Arizona.
Lance attempted 16 runs and gained 89 yards as the 49ers lost to the Cardinals.
But in Week 17 of the regular season, when the 49ers needed a victory to keep their postseason hopes alive, the 49ers' game plan changed with Lance at quarterback.
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Lance ran only eight times for 31 yards. He threw for 144 yards and two touchdowns in the second half to lead the 49ers to a 23-7 victory over the Houston Texans.
When Lance officially takes over as the full-time 49ers quarterback from Jimmy Garoppolo, Greg Cosell of NFL Films believes the quarterback-driven run game will always pose a threat as part of the offense.
The 49ers will have the option of using Lance how the Buffalo Bills deploy Josh Allen, who will have an increase in the number of designed quarterback runs as the stakes get higher later in the season.
"It's in your arsenal, and I think that will be part of what Kyle does with Trey Lance because it is a weapon," Cosell said on 49ers Talk.
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"Just like I think there will be more designed boot action with Trey Lance than you see with Garoppolo. Garoppolo is not a great thrower on the run. Trey Lance will be better than that.
"Obviously, Trey Lance brings the secondary action scrambling ability to the table, which Garoppolo did not have.”
Cosell believes Lance will give the 49ers’ offense more possibilities. But the key for Lance to fully develop into the kind of player the 49ers envisioned when they selected him with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft will be his play from the pocket. He must find success with his timing, precision, ball location, Cosell said.
"Offensively, you have to believe they'll be improved—or different," Cosell said. "I shouldn't say 'improved' because we don't know. Lance is still a prospect in many respects, so I think the offense will look different. Ideally, it will be better because Lance gives you more dimensions."
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Allen is a case study for how the accuracy of a quarterback can improve. In college, Allen completed passes at a 56-percent clip while at Wyoming.
As a rookie, his completion percentage was 52.8 percent. But in his third season, Allen improved to 69.2 percent.
Lance, by comparison, has shown greater signs of accuracy than Allen in his developing stages.
Lance completed 65 percent of his pass attempts at North Dakota State. Last season, he completed 41 of 71 pass attempts (57.8 percent) with five touchdowns and two interceptions in place of Garoppolo.
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