Jimmy Garoppolo saw Trey Lance’s long TD pass coming

Jimmy Garoppolo was one of the first players off the sideline to greet rookie QB Trey Lance after he unleashed an 80-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Trent Sherfield in the first quarter of the 49ers’ preseason opener against the Chiefs. He might’ve been one of the first players to meet Lance because he knew the touchdown was coming.

Garoppolo, who started Saturday’s game, told reporters after the game what he thought of Lance’s first professional touchdown.

“Oh, it was awesome. It was awesome,” Garoppolo said. “We kinda saw it coming, knowing the play and everything, watching Trent the whole time, and he broke the guy off. Trey put a beautiful pass out there. It was really cool.”

He also noted the play had two options with Brandon Aiyuk also open on a shorter route, but Lance chose the right throw.

Lance’s entire day didn’t go great, but that one play was a good example of why San Francisco selected him third overall in this year’s draft. If Lance continues making explosive plays like that while cleaning up some of the mistakes, he’s going to elevate the 49ers’ offense to a level we’ve yet to see during Kyle Shanahan’s tenure.