The Trey Lance era is over before it ever truly got started in San Francisco. Two years after going No. 3 overall in the NFL Draft, the once-vaunted quarterback prospect has been traded to the Dallas Cowboys for a 2024 fourth-round pick. The move came shortly after Lance was relegated to third-string duties behind Brock Purdy and Sam Darnold.
This is the NFL, of course, where stories are rewritten all the time; at just 23, Lance has time for redemption. But after being shipped to Dallas, he goes down as a costly draft-day misfire, even if he's not to blame for the bruises that marred his own Bay Area emergence. And his 49ers might be the one team that didn't strike gold in the Lance deal.
Not entirely dissimilar to the Eagles, their chief NFC competition, the 49ers are comfortable now, having accidentally landed a starter in Brock Purdy, their improbably poised 2022 seventh-rounder. (Philly invested a lot in the drafting and development of Carson Wentz, another NDSU product, only to find a more enticing successor in backup Jalen Hurts.)
But just wait until you see how much everyone else benefitted from their initial swing and miss:
The No. 3 slot where Lance was drafted originated with the Texans, who dealt it to the Dolphins as a future first-rounder in 2019. Houston acquired left tackle Laremy Tunsil in that swap, but its 4-12 finish in 2020 secured the early draft positioning for Miami.
In March 2021, with Lance's stock rising as a first-round prospect and 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo coming off a serious ankle injury, San Francisco acquired the No. 3 pick from the Dolphins in exchange for the No. 12 pick, first- and third-rounders in 2022 and a first-rounder in 2023. We know what the 49ers got -- Trey Lance. Now here's what happened with all they sent in return:
The Dolphins took the No. 12 pick, plus a fourth-rounder and 2022 first-rounder, and traded them to the Eagles in exchange for the No. 6 pick and a fifth-rounder. At No. 6, Miami took wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, who through two seasons has eclipsed 2,300 yards as one of the NFL's top young pass catchers.
The Eagles, meanwhile, took the No. 12 pick they got from the Dolphins -- a pick that originated with the 49ers -- and traded it again, sending it to the Cowboys along with a third-rounder (acquired from the Colts in exchange for Wentz) to move up to No. 10. There, they drafted WR DeVonta Smith, who like Waddle has emerged as one of the NFL's best young players at his position, with 2,100 yards in two years.
The Cowboys found a stud of their own with the No. 12 pick, using it to select linebacker Micah Parsons, who's already a face of the league with 26.5 sacks and 56 QB hits through two dominant seasons as Dallas' top pass rusher.
It doesn't end there: The Dolphins would go on to use the future 2022 first-rounder they acquired from the 49ers (No. 29 overall) in their trade package for Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill, a five-time All-Pro who eclipsed 110 catches and 1,700 yards in his Miami debut. During the 2022 season, they also used the future 2023 first-rounder from the 49ers (No. 29) to acquire pass rusher Bradley Chubb from the Broncos. A two-time Pro Bowler, Chubb has cleared 7.5 sacks and 20 QB hits in three of his five seasons.
The Broncos also benefited from the trickle-down effect, using the first-rounder acquired for Chubb to acquire new head coach Sean Payton from the Saints this offseason.
