49ers mailbag: How do you measure heart in the NFL Draft? And, of course, more Lance trade queries
SANTA CLARA — The 49ers don’t own a draft pick until No. 99 under Friday night’s lights, but that doesn’t mean we can ignore the 88th annual player selection meeting. It’s a rite of passage to renew hope — and to restart our mailbag via questions from Instagram and Twitter:
Is there a level to rate a prospect’s “Love of the game?” (@mattyb4949)
If so, the draft would not be such an inexact science. Linebacker Fred Warner, a 2018 third-rounder and now two-time All-Pro, said it best Monday: “I would never want to be a GM or a college scout. Because I don’t get how you can hand-pick these cats out of all these different schools all over the country, and you’re saying this guy is going to turn into something. It’s all projections. You don’t really know until they come here and you try to develop them.
“… You want to just talk to a kid face-to-face. You write up these reports about him and you watch him on tape. You want to know, ‘When I sit down with him man-to-man, what’s the conversation like?’ You can usually get a good vibe if a guy has his lines written down and he’s kind of rehearsing them, or he’s being genuine about what he’s saying. But even then, it’s all words. You can say whatever you want. It’s what you do that matters most.”
Give us your odds on Trey Lance being traded on Thursday or Friday? (@devildawg0801)
I’ll go the full Blutarsky and put it at a “0.0” percent chance. I can’t fathom a team parting with a first-round pick Thursday for a quarterback coming off a fractured ankle, much less one with just four starts and 102 passes in two seasons. Nor can I endorse unloading him Friday, when Brock Purdy’s elbow recovery is in Week 6 of 24, and when only Sam Darnold is in the bullpen on a Sudfeld-esque, modest contract ($3.5 million guaranteed).
If they traded for the Ravens’ franchise-tagged star Lamar Jackson, unloading Lance would be necessary, but as John Lynch said about a move for Jackson, the 2019 MVP: “You’re limited by the way our roster is set up.” Translation: they’ve paid other positions, and budgeted for young QBs. Tack on an $11 million dead-money cap hit if Lance gets traded and it’s not aligning with a QB penny-pinching formula.
If Trey was available for this year’s draft, would he be the first overall pick? (@sflood2542)
Who’s to say he’s not available in this draft, via trade? Oh, that’s right, I’m saying he’s unavailable, for now. Check back in October, if Purdy is fully healthy and re-installed as QB1. This draft’s perch is expected to see Darnold’s former team (the Carolina Panthers) take Bryce Young, who threw for 8,200 yards, 79 touchdowns and 12 interceptions for Alabama the past two seasons.
Are the 49ers drafting any QBs? (@54_alann)
OK, last quarterback question for this mailbag, and we’ll yield our time to John Lynch’s answer: “I know a lot’s been made about who we’ve met with (see: UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson) and the only thing I’d say to you, some of those things are true, some of those are just doing our job. We’re always going to be thorough, we’re always going to study. Sometimes that’s for three, four years down the line. We want to get to know each and every position and quarterback is no different.”
Is Trey Lance locking his front leg out when throwing and what is he doing to fix this? (@omarlillingston)
Another quarterback question?! Sure, it’s lying season, and we’ll answer more! But to answer this, we probably should be a quarterbacks coach or at least be a kinesiology major. Lynch said Lance has done “different things” in training this offseason and everyone is encouraged.
Is this draft going to be defensive-based? (@ko_cheeze24)
This draft must be depth-based, and the offense looks thinner than the defense. Go spend those 11 picks to find future stars at tight end, the offensive line, wide receiver, and even quarterback, but, puh-lease, don’t use a third-rounder on a running back for a third straight year.
Who will be the starting right tackle? (@niner_khalid)
The man’s name is Colton. Colton McKivitz. From McGlinchey to McKivitz, so goes the 49ers’ McMovement.
When will the 49ers play an NFL game in Europe? (@granchio.1976)
A decade after last playing in London, the 49ers could make their encore this season, to try repeating their win over the Overseas Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium. We’ll find out if that comes to fruition when the schedule comes out next month. Until then, cheerio!