Insider: 'Trey Lance is going to add another dimension' to 49ers offense

The days of people asking questions about the "arm fitness" of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance may already be well in the past. 

Lance impressed in his first preseason outing as the club's new starter, as he connected on four of five passes for 92 yards with a 76-yard touchdown thrown to wide receiver Danny Gray during this past Friday's 28-21 win over the Green Bay Packers. After that contest, ESPN personality and former NFL defensive end Chris Canty boldly predicted that "the 49ers (will) represent the NFC in the Super Bowl" this coming February with Lance under center. 

Canty may be driving the Lance hype train this summer, but a different retired player is also on board. 

Former cornerback Jason McCourty, who recently retired and then joined NFL Network's "Good Morning Football" show, has suggested he believes Lance can take the 49ers where veteran Jimmy Garoppolo couldn't while serving as their QB1. 

"Trey Lance is going to add another dimension to this offense that they didn't have," McCourty said during an on-air segment, per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "His ability to run. His ability to scramble and make throws outside of the pocket, which we saw a little bit in the preseason."

While Lance only attempted 71 regular-season passes as a rookie, he did contribute 168 rushing yards and a touchdown on 38 attempts during the 2021 campaign. 

Fellow "GMFB" star Peter Schrager asked McCourty if Lance has the goods "to take the NFL by storm" beginning this fall. 

"I think so," McCourty responded. "And I think, because of the inexperience, we don't have a huge test sample, so we don't really know [what he will be]. And I think, when you look at quarterbacks, when they sometimes come on the scene, when Cam Newton first came on the scene his rookie year, [he] took off. You hadn't really seen it. You don't know how to prepare for it.

"Then you give these defensive coordinators 17 games to study a guy in the entire offseason, you're able to really figure out what they do. … Trey Lance, 389 throws since high school, unless they're putting Pop Warner film on, there's not a lot of tape to figure him out."

For now, Lance and company are preparing to take the field at the Minnesota Vikings for Saturday's exhibition matchup. The 49ers open the regular season at the Chicago Bears on Sept. 11.