NFL insider: 49ers QB Trey Lance 'might be an MVP candidate' in 2022

San Francisco 49ers second-year pro and first-year starter Trey Lance produced one of the biggest highlights of the NFL's preseason slate over the weekend with his 76-yard touchdown heave to wideout Danny Gray. Lance finished the day 4-for-5 for 92 passing yards and added a seven-yard carry in Friday's 28-21 win over the Green Bay Packers.

Not only is Lance one of the most intriguing young quarterbacks that many are keeping an eye on this summer, but ESPN's Bill Barnwell is going as far as to say that the former third overall pick will be this year's biggest breakout in the entire league. Barnwell made predictions for "25 NFL breakout candidates for 2022" on Monday morning and had nothing but praise for Lance.

"One player who barely played last season but might be an MVP candidate in 2022 belongs in a class of his own," Barnwell wrote of Lance. "We saw Lance take the field for 178 snaps a year ago with inconsistent returns, but I would essentially throw out those snaps in terms of what we'll see going forward. ... On the personnel side, Lance is the most extreme example of the versatility and plausible deniability coach Kyle Shanahan attempts to get on the field with his ball carriers. When everyone is healthy, Shanahan's 49ers have five eligible players who can either catch a pass, block or carry the football as a running back. Everyone needs to be able to make plays with the ball in their hands."

The 22-year-old mobile signal-caller was officially tabbed as San Francisco's starting quarterback for the 2022 campaign in late July.

While the 49ers already have All-Pro talent at tight end (George Kittle), wide receiver (Deebo Samuel) and in a way, running back (Samuel again), Barnwell feels that the team could now has the necessary star power under center to take the next step.

"The one position in which Shanahan didn't have a player capable of threatening teams was quarterback, where (Jimmy) Garoppolo was a conventional dropback passer. Garoppolo has his strengths, but he doesn't threaten teams with his legs or create huge plays. From 2018 to '21, no quarterback threw downfield less frequently; just 7.2% of his pass attempts traveled at least 20 yards downfield. Lance did so on 18.3% of his 71 attempts a year ago, which would have led the league over a larger sample," Barnwell wrote. "Lance also gives the 49ers solutions for dealing with the changes defenses are making to slow the Shanahan offense. The 49ers have grown into a more diverse and power-focused ground game than the outside-zone-heavy approach his coaching tree is known for, but they still stretch teams horizontally with runs and motion before attempting to attack vertically uphill. They then create quarterback-friendly passing opportunities by using play-action and boot concepts to work away from the flow of the defense as they chase what they expect to be another run."

San Francisco's next preseason game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday against the Minnesota Vikings.