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Joe Montana wishes 49ers drafted a different rookie QB instead of Trey Lance

eric edholm
·2 min read

San Francisco 49ers legend Joe Montana has thoughts on his former team's choice at quarterback this spring. He's not against Trey Lance, per se, but Montana said there's another rookie quarterback he wishes the team drafted instead.

Appearing on ESPN's "College Football Live" on Tuesday, Montana said he wishes the 49ers had selected Alabama's Mac Jones.

"If I were the 49ers, I would have taken (Jones)," Montana said. "Nothing against (Lance), but (Jones is) more pro-style offense, more used to being in tough situations."

If you recall, following the 49ers' bold trade up in the 2021 NFL draft from No. 12 to No. 3 overall, there was a lot of Jones-to-the-49ers chatter. Jones was said to be someone who Kyle Shanahan could envision running the team's offense, and we agreed with that assessment. Some of that buzz lingered up until draft day.

Ultimately, the 49ers took Lance third. Jones slipped to No. 15 overall to the New England Patriots.

Jones has started all eight games for New England as a rookie after he beat out Cam Newton in training camp. Through eight games, Jones leads all rookie QBs with more than one start in pass yards (1,997), TD passes (nine) and completion percentage (68.1%) and has the fewest interceptions (six).

Lance has started one game for the 49ers, appearing in three others while battling some injuries. He's completed 25 of 48 passes (52.1%) for 354 yards, three TDs and one interception. Lance also has rushed 27 times for 133 yards and a TD.

Jimmy Garoppolo has started the 49ers' other six games, completing 111 of 173 passes (64.2%) for 1,428 yards, six TDs and four picks. He had his best game in forever on Sunday, beating the Bears and helping take mounting pressure off of Shanahan and himself among fans, many of whom want to see more of Lance.

But Montana apparently isn't as jacked as others are. Even while saying it's not about Lance, Montana apparently has seen enough of Lance and Jones to know that the guy New England picked is the one he'd prefer.