Longtime hit reporter Matt Maiocco has seen hundreds of players come and go during his years covering the San Francisco 49ers, but none seem to stand out in the way of defender and first-round pick Trey Lance. Made it during this year̵

7;s OTAs.

Maiocco joined Sports Radio KJR in Seattle on Tuesday to talk about what he’s seen from Lance so far and what to expect from him along the way. Maiocco told Seahawks beat reporter Gregg Bell that the The improvements he saw from Lance in his short time in the OTA may be on a level he hasn’t seen from other 49ers players.

“He might be the only one since I’ve been in charge of the team. which about a quarter of a decade That goes from one week of OTA until next week. You can really see improvements,” Maiocco said. “In the first week we went out there and he didn’t seem very confident in himself, slow ticks, high balls, you could tell there was a lot going on in his head and in Next week, he’s out there. And you can tell — he’s controlling traffic, moving people from point A to point B, and he’s throwing the ball a little more accurately. Often times you see big changes that you can make. see with the naked eye.”

49ers general manager John Lynch has the same assessments as Maiocco. It’s important to note that OTAs do not present the same level of challenge that the Lance will face when the pads enter the training camp and during the training camp. season but until now The verdict is extremely positive.

“I think I asked John Lynch about a week later and I was like, ‘Hey, did I see the right thing?’” Maiocco said. “I only looked at two practices—two of the seven I thought I had. You can see and he’s like, ‘No, that’s how we feel’. You can really see him grow and learn. He’s putting in his time. I’m not ready to stamp a ticket to Canton or whatever. but until now He was the person they thought he would from a character’s point of view. Definitely a work ethic, standing, then soon saw the physical tools as well.”

Maiocco also talks about what he learned during his recent trip to Fargo, North Dakota, for an upcoming story about Lance (“What is interesting is the culture at North Dakota State in the quarterback room is what the 49ers are doing. It’s in the moment,” Maiocco said) while still thinking about what to expect from Lance this season, at least in the beginning.

“I fully expect them to use Trey Lance, most probably a runner early in his career,” Maiocco said. Then you can work from there, you can throw the ball into the field and give a small package. give it to him so that he may succeed The last thing you want to do with numbers. The three choices in total are just throw him out and sink or swim and he hits and he lacks confidence.”

The full interview takes only 10 minutes. Click here to listen.