Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

49ers kept No. 3 selection a secret, even from Trey Lance

By Erin Walsh | Last updated 4/30/21

The San Francisco 49ers wouldn't tell anyone their plans for their top pick in this year's draft, not even Trey Lance, who heard his name called by the franchise third overall.

"You had a hunch for a while?" 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan asked Lance as he called to tell him he was the pick.

"Man, I didn't know, coach. You wouldn't tell me nothing!" Lance replied.

"Welcome to the #49ers buddy. So happy to add you to our family."

Go inside the #49ersDraft room when @JohnLynch49ers, @JedYork and #Kyle gave @TreyLance09 the call. pic.twitter.com/E7AHO3HLAt
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) April 30, 2021

After the Niners traded up from No. 12 to No. 3, it was widely believed they did so to select Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, who ended up being taken by the New England Patriots at No. 15.

However, Lance had been Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's target all along.

"We've been very high on Trey since the beginning. Since Day 1," Shanahan said at his post-draft press conference. "And, yes, the person everyone else was speculating about, we liked him, too. ... When we made the trade, we knew exactly where we were going and what we were doing."

Lance was viewed as the fifth-best quarterback in the draft before being selected ahead of Justin Fields and Jones. Only time will tell if he ends up being better than those two players.

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