San Francisco 49ers fans know as well as anyone how much a team can benefit from the financial flexibility offered by a third-day quarterback establishing themselves as the starter early in their career.
The opposite can be said of QBs taken at the top of the draft that fail to live up to expectations. More times than not, missing on a quarterback in the first round will set a franchise back for years, as top picks are expected to be immediate contributors, regardless of the position.
With that being the case, it is interesting to see what one recent 49ers bust at the most important position on the field is doing in the early portions of training camp with his new team, as the signal caller is already turning heads.
49ers QB Bust Trey Lance Showing Out with Chargers in Training Camp
After being selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, Trey Lance is now on his third team. He signed with the Los Angeles Chargers this offseason after failing to make enough of an impression on the Dallas Cowboys to last more than one season in the Lone Star State.
Again, it is still very early in training camp, but Lance is looking the part in Los Angeles now that he is working under head coach Jim Harbaugh and alongside fellow QB Justin Herbert. The Chargers have been in camp a week longer than the majority of the league, as they are scheduled to play in the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, but throws like the one below are turning heads (h/t @grantcohn).
Jim Harbaugh really might fix Trey Lance. pic.twitter.com/DgHKuVIjNW
— Grant Cohn (@grantcohn) July 27, 2025
While this is far from a reason to believe the league has been wrong about Lance all along, his path to being labeled as a bust is an interesting one, as the time he has had to prove himself in meaningful game situations has been very limited. It is hard to get a full idea of what a player is capable of, especially at quarterback, when they have attempted just 143 passes over 12 career games.
Harbaugh has worked wonders with quarterbacks at the collegiate and professional levels who were either overlooked or, as in the case of Lance, labeled a bust. If he can do the same with Lance now that the two are working together for the Chargers, it will leave fans across the league wondering what Harbaugh was able to do to tap into his talent and maximize its potential, and why their coaching staff couldn't do the same.
We're still a long way from having to consider that conversation, though. With Brock Purdy under center in San Francisco, 49ers fans have more important things to worry about at this point in the summer than backup quarterbacks on AFC teams.
As long as Purdy and the 49ers can get back to their winning ways during the 2025 campaign, whatever Lance may or may not accomplish in Los Angeles won't even be on the radar of fans in the Bay Area.