49ers QB Trey Lance reportedly had a passing breakthrough after studying Patrick Mahomes

Trey Lance will take the field this coming week as QB1 for the 49ers as the team starts OTAs. Maybe he’ll give Kyle Shanahan reason to reconsider whether Brock Purdy will remain the starter.

Purdy still hasn’t been cleared to throw after elbow surgery three months ago. Meanwhile, Trey Lance is fully recovered from two ankle surgeries. And he’s worked with a private quarterback coach since the season ended. Guess how Jeff Christensen, the outside coach, is teaching Lance how to better his game? Lance’s assignment is to watch film on Patrick Mahomes. Sometimes it’s easier to visualize instruction when you can view it on screen.

“I said, ‘Watch this. Watch what he does here,'” Christensen said of Trey Lance in an interview with The Athletic. “It was something I was telling him to do that he wasn’t quite doing. And then he saw Patrick apply it perfectly. And I think that visual buy-in, that mental buy-in, helped him past that mental hump.”

“To his credit he just kept getting better,” Christensen added. During “the last seven days, every day was a substantial jump.”

49ers spent big draft capital to select Trey Lance in 2021

Trey Lance was supposed to be the quarterback of the future for the 49ers. San Francisco traded up for the Dolphins pick at No. 3 in the 2021 NFL Draft. The 49ers sent three first-round picks to Miami for the right to select that high. Lance then was a raw 20-year-old who started only one full season for North Dakota State. He led the Bison to the FCS national title in 2019. The Covid pandemic thwarted Lance’s season in 2020, but he still declared for the 2021 draft.

Lance earned the starting job in 2022. But two games into the season, he broke his ankle. Jimmy Garoppolo replaced him. But Garoppolo later suffered a season-ending injury, leaving the starting job for Purdy, the rookie who was the final pick of the 2022 draft. Purdy led the 49ers to the NFC title game before suffering a severe elbow injury.

Christensen tried to tweak Lance’s throwing motion

Christensen has worked to tweak Trey Lance’s throwing motion this offseason. Lance does have a ton of talent, but in eight NFL appearances, he’s completed only 54.9 percent of his passes. That’s usually not a winning number in the NFL. However, Christensen says Lance and Mahomes are alike in their competitiveness and overall demeanor. Mahomes, the two-time Super Bowl MVP, even trained with Lance for several of the sessions convened by Christensen.

“He really fit right in,” Christensen said of Trey Lance. “Pat really thinks the world of him. He’s just a really good person, conscientious. He wants to be great. And he’s one of the few kids whose actions match his words. He backs it up. He shows up every day and he wants to learn. And that’s why I teach him.”

The 49ers begin the team portion of OTAs on Monday. They’ll also work May 25, May 30-May 31, June 2, June 5-6 and June 8. Mandatory minicamp is June 13-15. Lance will be there to take first-team reps. Garoppolo no longer is with the team. He signed with the Raiders. San Francisco signed Sam Darnold, a one-time first-rounder, to replace Garoppolo on the depth chart. So the competition should be healthy even with Purdy still sidelined. Doctors expect him to start throwing sometime next month.