If the 49ers’ 2021 draft had already become the stuff of NFL lore, the event became certifiably infamous on Friday after San Francisco traded away quarterback Trey Lance just over two weeks before the start of his third season.
The Niners, who acquired the No. 3 pick to select Lance by trading three first-round picks to the Dolphins to move up from No. 12, dealt the former North Dakota State standout to the Cowboys on Friday in exchange for a 2024 fourth-round pick, according to multiple reports. The decision came after San Francisco moved the 23-year-old signal-caller down the depth chart behind rising second-year sensation Brock Purdy and veteran Sam Darnold earlier in the week.
Though the trade will put an end to the very brief—and rather futile—Lance Era in the Bay Area, the long-lasting ramifications for the 49ers reach far beyond the young quarterback. After moving up to the No. 3 pick in 2021, San Francisco saw the dominoes fall in a way where Miami landed Jaylen Waddle, the Eagles selected DeVonta Smith and All-Pro Micah Parsons ended up with the Cowboys—all selections that were directly connected to the Niners’ initially trading up.
To make matters worse, the Dolphins used the other picks acquired in the deal to make a subsequent trade for Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb.
When considering all of that, the move by the 49ers has aged poorly—to say the least. NFL media members and fans were quick to raise that point once again on Friday after San Francisco admitted defeat and cut bait on Lance.
It’s official. The 49ers decision to give up 3 first round picks to move up and draft Trey Lance is THE WORST DRAFT DAY MOVE OF ALL TIME. Only reason Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch aren’t fired is they hit on the last pick of last year’s draft in Brock Purdy. Now Trey has been…
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) August 25, 2023
49ers traded 3 first round draft picks to draft Trey Lance No. 3 overall
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) August 23, 2023
if that wasn't bad enough, the 10 players drafted after Lance:
Kyle Pitts
Ja'Marr Chase
Jaylen Waddle
Penei Sewell
Jaycee Horn
Patrick Surtain II
DeVonta Smith
Justin Fields
Micah Parsons
Rashawn Slater https://t.co/ChFX7Hi72B
The #49ers have paid Trey Lance $27.85M for 262 snaps of work.
— Spotrac (@spotrac) August 24, 2023
Had the 49ers not drafted Trey Lance they could have drafted Micah Parsons. Now the Cowboys got both.
— Ryan G Hensley (@ryanghensley) August 26, 2023
Alex Smith got five years of patience from the 49ers.
— Jarrett Bailey (@JBaileyNFL) August 23, 2023
Trey Lance got four games.
Man… the lack of ego from John Lynch and Shanahan here is truly rare.
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 25, 2023
They took a MASSIVE SWING to get this guy… the whole world was watching and reacting to it.. now they’re saying “Yeah… we got it completely wrong” officially
Hopefully Trey figures it all out. https://t.co/eKC4iwb8Qz
Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch should be embarrassed!!
— Marco Martinez (@marco_mart1205) August 25, 2023
When you give up all this capital and you can't let the guy you gave up all this to get play more than 4 games... You failed. He didn't fail. You failed. Complete and utter catastrophic failure on the part of Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch. Better hope Trey doesn't emerge soon. pic.twitter.com/sZwUbCIlBP
— JAKE ELLENBOGEN (@JKBOGEN) August 26, 2023
