The selection of Trey Lance third overall in 2021 was supposed to represent the future for the San Francisco 49ers at their most important position. That future ended on Wednesday when reports surfaced that Kyle Shanahan had selected Sam Darnold, not Lance, to serve as the number two quarterback to Brock Purdy.
San Francisco’s use of three first round picks and a third-round pick will go down as one of the worst in franchise history. On a side note, what keeps it from being the worst is the 1978 trade for O.J. Simpson which cost the 49ers their second and third round picks in 1978, their first and fourth round picks in 1979 and a second rounder in 1980.