The 49ers made a calculated decision before the 2021 draft. They were content with skipping the next two first rounds if it meant getting up to No. 3 where they could select North Dakota State QB Trey Lance. How that move will fare in the annals of 49ers history remains to be seen, but by looking at this year’s draft we can get an idea of what an alternate future without the trade might’ve looked like.
There are a million hypothetical realities we could hang around in, but lets reside in the one where the 49ers don’t take a first-round QB last year and their 2021 season plays out the same way – a 10-7 finish with a loss in the NFC championship game that nets them the No. 29 overall pick.
Part of the justification for moving up last year was the presumed weakness of the QB class in 2022. There’s no consensus top signal caller and there’s a very real chance no QB gets taken in the top 10. The 49ers might’ve actually been able to hang around at No. 29 and get a QB, but that player wouldn’t have been nearly the prospect Lance was.
