San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan still might not be able to confirm whether any of us will be alive this time next week, but he’s at least willing to cement rising second-year quarterback Trey Lance as his football team’s starting signal-caller. Specifically, Shanahan noted the following about long-time starter Jimmy Garoppolo:
“We have moved on to Trey Lance,” Shanahan told reporters on the 49ers' first day of training camp for veterans. “This is Trey’s team. … We think Jimmy would have been traded if not for the surgery.”
It’s tough to not be excited about what Lance can bring to the table in fantasy football thanks to his rushing upside: He racked up 31 carries in three extended appearances last season. Even a more conservative estimate of eight carries per game would lead to 136 rush attempts across a 17-game season. PFF projects him for 133 total rush attempts in 2022.
Historically, quarterbacks with this sort of fantasy-friendly workload don’t bust: 11 of 12 signal-callers to get at least 125 carries in a season went on to post top-12 fantasy production on a per-game basis. 2020 Cam Newton (QB17) was the only exception, which is truly remarkable considering this is going off per-game numbers; quarterbacks aren’t simply being rewarded for staying healthy. The upside is truly immense, as seven of the 12 qualifiers finished as a top-five signal-caller.
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