Player Profile:

Trey Lance is a quarterback out of North Dakota State University. Lance has led the team to multiple championships. Lance decided to opt out in 2020, and played one exhibition game, that didn’t really mean much. His performance wasn’t outstanding but his film in the past two seasons sticks out. Lance is known for his 42 touchdown season in which he threw no interceptions and ran for 14 touchdowns.

Pros:

Lance is a well balanced quarterback. He is obviously a very good runner, but also brings power and strength to the run. Even the fastest QB’s in the NFL aren’t necessarily hard nosed runners who like to lower their helmet. Lance’s running ability forces defenses to game plan for this element, but he can also burn teams with his play action. Lance saw the most success as a passer through play action. His accuracy and decision making are extremely skilled, especially through the deep ball. Lance hit’s his targets in stride, and puts a nice touch on his deep throws. Lance is a smart QB overall. He knows when to take the check down and hits his passes without many whiffs, which goes on to show why he had a 0 interception season. Lance throws the ball nicely on the move as well. Overall, his accuracy on all three levels is solid, along with his elite mobility, and his play action and deep ball game all make Lance an exceptional QB

Cons:

Lance has some mechanics issues. Once he was asked to throw the ball more in NDSU’s run first offense, Lance’s footwork took a fall. His throwing mechanics are pretty solid, however his footwork inside the pocket when he stands still, has room to be fixed with coaching in the NFL. While Lance has solid accuracy, he needs to put the ball in tighter windows more often. He can’t shy away from this in the NFL, because more often than not, the check down won’t be the best option for him to take, and it likely won’t bail him out. His accuracy can be improved when throwing in tight windows. The biggest knock on Lance is the competition he has faced. He played extremely weak teams throughout his successful career, which leads to a number of things. His run game may not be as impactful, and his deep ball may be taken away once he plays better competition. A lot of Lance’s game can be improved through good coaching, but he has the raw skill needed out of any QB in the NFL. His mental processing will also have to improve, as so for many of the quarterbacks in this years draft.

Overview:

Lance is among the top QB’s in this years draft. As mentioned above, Lance has the natural ability any NFL caliber QB requires. His competition is what may hold most teams back before pulling the trigger on him. Yet, Lance’s game itself seemed very elite, if you are ignoring the teams he faced. I personally have Lance higher ranked than others do. Lance should be an early to mid 1st round pick, and is likely neck and neck with Justin Fields out of OSU. A dream fit for Lance would likely be the Carolina Panthers or Washington Football Team. Both teams have a solid supporting cast, and are in need of a QB to make a deep run.