Two-Headed Dragon: The Pros and Cons of Interchanging Jimmy and Trey

“If you have two quarterbacks, you have none” is a popular saying among NFL coaches and analysts alike. However, this doesn’t seem to apply to Kyle Shanahan.

The offensive genius has long said Trey Lance would play this season despite Jimmy Garoppolo being the starter. And if the last preseason game against the Raiders is any indication, Shanahan will be holding true to his word come week one.

Playing both Garoppolo and Lance interchangeably sounds odd but might offer the 49ers a few opportunities to exploit.

Below, we’ll dive into the pros and cons of deploying a Two-Headed Dragon system:

Pro: Confuse the defense

The 49ers rolled out their Two-Headed Dragon against the Raiders in the last game of the preseason and it looked unstoppable.

Granted it was a preseason game against one of the worst defensive teams in the NFL (good old Raiders), but the confusion and the stress within the defense was definitely palpable.

One of the most impressive features of this system was the rhythm of play; the QB subbing in would already come prepared with the play call, so the team was extremely quick to get to the line of scrimmage and run the next play.

Buckle up for several false starts and 12-man-on-the-field penalties!

Not only did it stress the opposing defense to line up in limited time, but it also require them to substitute players based on who was under center. Lance adds another dimension to the 49ers’ running game and big plays down the field, while Garoppolo allows the offense to run quick efficient plays in the short and intermediate game.

This will especially be true for the first two or three weeks of the season: opposing teams will be kept on their heels trying to figure out this new-age offense.

We know Dan Campbell loves his coffee, but even for him, this might be a headache too hard to overcome.

Pro: Expand the playbook

One of the reasons San Francisco decided to spend a high amount of draft capital on Trey Lance is so Kyle can expand his playbook with more opportunities to exploit big plays down the field while having a quarterback mobile enough to escape pressure and make defenses account for scrambling plays.

It was Jimmy’s limitations in those areas that forced the 49ers to consider upgrading the position, but we also can’t forget that Garoppolo has plenty of great qualities as a passer including a lightning-quick release, a familiarity with the system and the ability to deliver strikes in the face of pressure.

Both players possess drastically different qualities that cover the full spectrum of top abilities required to successfully quarterback in the NFL.

As Trey continues to develop, this will allow Shanahan to play with each of his quarterback’s strengths and exploit every possible weakness of his opponents every week.

Pro: Allow Trey Lance to develop

If the preseason has taught us anything, it’s that despite having all the raw tools to make incredible plays at the NFL level, Trey Lance’s play is still wildly inconsistent.

If the 49ers were a bottom-dwelling team, it would make sense to roll with the rookie and let him make mistakes for better learning experiences.

However, San Francisco has an incredibly deep roster that can compete with the best of them. Their window to win a Super Bowl is now and it would be risky to have someone as inexperienced as Trey Lance under center, especially in such a competitive division.

In previous years, the 49ers’ success relied entirely on Garoppolo’s health. Now, San Francisco has a nice insurance policy in a 21-year-old ultra-talented rookie that is set to take over the franchise moving forward.

So why not go the Alex Smith-Patrick Mahomes route and let the rookie sit for a year?

Because at this juncture in his career, Trey Lance lacks playing time.

With only 287 passing attempts coming out of a pandemic-shortened season at a mid-major school, sitting on the sidelines will not do Lance any good. It is imperative for the 49ers to let him see some action in any way, shape, or form.

And if he’s not ready to start right away, this is one of the best possible options for him to see the field.

Pro: Increase Jimmy’s value for a potential trade mid-season

The season will be long and while it appears Jimmy Garoppolo is the entrenched starter as we approach week one, things could change in a hurry prior to the trade deadline midway through the season.

The 49ers have sung the Garoppolo’s praises all offseason long, but if we’ve learned anything about this front office, it’s that they play their cards close to the vest.

If the 49ers’ plan is to gauge potential suitors for a trade, it makes sense to let Garoppolo play to increase his value instead of having him warm the bench for a rookie.

While New England and Chicago seem to have secured the future at the position, there could be a plethora of desperate teams that emerge within the next few weeks. If Trey Lance is ready to assume starting responsibilities by then, it might be in San Francisco’s best interest to entertain trade offers.

Con: Higher risk of injuries

As we’ve seen against the Raiders, Trey Lance will be asked to run the ball. He will also be asked to fake-run the ball on read options and rollouts. And that’s where one of the biggest risks lay.

Even without the ball, defenders will be allowed to hit Trey on play-action. Are the 49ers comfortable throwing their prized third overall pick as a decoy for a few more yards in the run game?

At 6-foor-4 and 227 pounds, Lance is certainly built to take the punishment, but Shanahan is all too familiar with young quarterbacks whose careers get completely derailed because of injuries as he and his dad coached Robert Griffin III in Washington.

It is puzzling to think Kyle would risk the same outcome to the first hand-picked quarterback of his head coaching career, especially considering the number of key injuries the team has had to endure during his 49ers tenure.

Garoppolo is considered injury-prone, and Trey Lance already finds himself unable to throw in practice because of a chipped finger he suffered in limited preseason action.

Is it truly worth it to risk injuries to two different quarterbacks on every Sunday?

Con: Limited Depth at QB

The other major issue with potential injuries at the quarterback position is the limited depth in the roster. If you followed what we echoed at 49ers Hub earlier this week, you know the importance of having a third quarterback after the roster cuts.

The 49ers surprisingly cut Nate Sudfeld before bringing him back to their practice squad, which means they will have just two active quarterbacks suiting up on game-days, while most other teams keep a third in case of an emergency.

During his tenure, Shanahan has almost always kept three active quarterbacks and except for one season in 2019, he’s had to rotate through all three of them.

The other issue is that Nate Sudfeld has seen very limited action during the preseason with only seven pass attempts! How ready can he be should the unforeseen happen?

If it is indeed the plan to go with this Two-Headed Dragon system, why take the risk of not having a third option readily available?

Con: Breaking the rhythm

Quarterbacking in the NFL is all about dictating the rhythm of play. When a top QB is rolling, the offense gets in an unstoppable flow that can only be broken by an unforeseen turnover, or an injury.

Or… by subbing out the quarterback.

This can be true for both Garoppolo and Lance. How can Lance get comfortable learning the nuances of NFL defenses if he has to also focus on subbing in-and-out on every drive? It adds an extra level of stress to an already complex offense.

What if Jimmy Garoppolo throws an interception? Does that mean Lance will automatically be subbed in on the next drive? How would Jimmy’s confidence recover by the next time he subs back in?

Will both QBs be too scared of taking risks by fear of losing snap counts? Everybody will likely react differently whether it’s Jimmy (“PUT IN LANCE!”) or Trey (“Oh, it’s ok, he’s just learning!”) committing a turnover, which adds much more pressure on Jimmy, whose future is already up in the air with a rookie breathing down his neck.

While this system does present some enticing opportunities, it comes with considerable questions and potential headaches, that makes us think this should not last in the long run.

What do you think?

Two-Headed Dragon: The Pros and Cons of Interchanging Jimmy and Trey

Making the Pick: Predictions for the 49ers First Game

7 Bubble Players the 49ers Need to Keep