The majority of the buzz leading up to the 2021 NFL Draft indicated Mac Jones was the 49ers’ target for the third overall pick.
That proved to be not the case.
San Francisco instead rolled with Trey Lance, an FCS product who probably is going to need quite a bit of polishing and development before he can be a true starting quarterback at the highest level. Jones, meanwhile, arguably was the most NFL-ready of all the QB prospects in this year’s class.
So, why did Kyle Shanahan and Co. choose Lance over Jones? Rodney Harrison believes they didn’t want to stray from a recent trend.
“Probably public pressure,” Harrison said Wednesday on “The Dan Patrick Show,” as transcribed by NBC Sports Bay Area. “Everybody wants to get into this I need an athletic quarterback, I need an athletic quarterback. Yeah, he can run around and do all these incredible plays at times, but you need somebody that can sit in the pocket, read the defenses, communicate to the offense, get everybody in the right position and sometimes it’s not sexy enough. A lot of these coaches, they fall to the pressure of the public, man. When you get a guy like Mac Jones, who is smart, who puts the team first, who does things right, I don’t see how you can bypass a guy like that.
“Ultimately, when you make a decision like that, it can ultimately cost you your job.”
It would be dramatic to say the Niners swung and missed by taking Lance. The dual-threat dynamo could be vastly improved this time next year for all we know.
That said, it only would be natural for San Francisco’s front office to be feeling hints of regret while watching Jones thrive with the New England Patriots.
