Fox broadcaster and former NFL player Emmanuel Acho has given a damning assessment of San Francisco 49ers QB Trey Lance ahead of the 2022 season. 

Having been taken with the 3rd overall pick in the 2021 draft, there is an expectation that Trey Lance will become the starting quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers at some point in the not too distant future, especially with head coach Kyle Shanahan recently stating that he expects Jimmy Garoppolo to be traded away. 

Lance has already made some appearances for the 49ers this past season, playing 6 times and making 2 starts, in which he compiled a 1-1 record, threw for 603 yards with 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, whilst also rushing for 168 yards and a further touchdown.

With the 2022 NFL season now coming over the horizon and teams getting back into the swing of things as they get ready with OTAs, it gives people like Lance the chance to develop further as they get set for the next chapter in their lives with it looking more and more likely that he will be the starter for them come opening day.

Vulnerable to the sophomore slump? 

One of the biggest concerns amongst quarterbacks going into their second year in the NFL is something called the ‘sophomore slump’, similar to ‘second season syndrome’ in the Premier League, and there have been some noticeable cases of players who have taken a bit of a dive during their second year in the league. 

Now whether or not Lance falls into the category as he hasn’t technically been playing for a full year is something of a grey area, but it is still something to watch out for with him going forward.

But according to Emmanuel Acho, that slump might have already happened, and he doesn’t see him coming out of it.

What’s Acho said?

Speaking on Speak For Yourself (quoted by Fox Sports) as part of a segment where they graded quarterbacks going into their second year and how confident they are in them, Acho had a pretty damning verdict about Lance based on what he had heard coming out of the organisation:

“From everything I've heard from people within the locker room, and outside the locker room, he just ain't it. He just ain't got it… The Niners chose to play Jimmy Garoppolo with a broken thumb over their top-three first-round pick. There's a reason for that."

Whether this turns into a chip on his shoulder for the season, or he ends up proving Acho right with how he plays, we’ll just have to wait and see.