Panther Prodigy
I was encouraged watching Panthers QB Bryce Young “Roto” play on Friday. He looked composed in the pocket, ran when needed (not out of panic) and took good shots downfield. I am still worried about the Panthers shaky OL play, but if given time Young can make plays. The other concern I have is with the Panthers WRs getting separation off the line of scrimmage. Adam Thielen is 33 years old, D.J. Chark is dealing with a hamstring injury and Jonathan Mingo is a rookie learning his craft. If they can’t separate quickly enough, the OL will not be able to give Young time to throw. It could be a ripple effect which leads to numerous sacks. There is tremendous upside with Young; it just might not come until 2024 and beyond.
Lance Traded
The 49ers finally cut bait and traded former #3 overall draft pick QB Trey Lance to the Dallas Cowboys for a 4th round pick. This deal signifies that the 49ers admitted that drafting Lance was a major mistake and they needed to move on. The writing was on the wall a few months ago as San Francisco jumped on signing Sam Darnold right when the free agent signing period began. Now the 49ers will go into the season with Brock Purdy as their starter and Darnold as his backup.
I like the move for Dallas. Will Grier and Cooper Rush are nothing more than QB3 type players and Trey Lance still might have some hidden talent that the Cowboys coaching staff can explore. I do not think that Lance is a threat to Dak Prescott’s job at all, so there is no need to panic with Dak and drop him down draft boards.