ESPN analyst Riddick: 49ers could be better off with Lance than Rams with Stafford

Matthew Stafford has passed for 2,771 yards, 23 touchdowns and is in the conversation for the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award.

Trey Lance has played sparingly, with a single start and 354 yards passing over two games, and is nowhere near consideration for the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The 49ers and Los Angeles Rams both made seismic offseason moves at football’s most important position. The deals that landed Stafford with the Rams and Lance with the 49ers will be on display Monday night when the teams meet at Levi’s Stadium.

And while the Rams are 7-2 and the 49ers 3-5, ESPN analyst Louis Riddick believes it’s conceivable the 49ers could be better off in the long run.

“You know what’s interesting about that?” Riddick said Saturday in a phone interview. “It’s not that the 49ers didn’t want Matthew Stafford. They would have given up something to get him too. But as it works out, the Rams get the deal done and San Francisco drafts for the future.

“In the end, if they hit on Trey, it’s going to pay off better for them anyway.”

Riddick, a former personnel executive in Washington and Philadelphia, is part of a three-man booth along with analyst Brian Griese and play-by-play announcer Steve Levy. He has interviewed for general manager positions with Detroit, Atlanta and Jacksonville and once with the 49ers in 2017.

How the longtime NFC West rivals altered the course of their respective futures with blockbuster trades will be scrutinized during the broadcast and analyzed for years to come.

To review, the 49ers originally held the No. 12 pick in the draft, but traded it to Miami, along with first- and third-round picks in 2022 and another first-round pick in 2023, to move up to No. 3 to take Lance out of North Dakota State.

Four months earlier, the Rams shipped starting quarterback Jared Goff, two first-round picks and a third-round pick to Detroit to bring aboard Stafford, who wanted a fresh start after 12 seasons with the Lions.

Given that Stafford is 33 and Lance is 21, there’s an urgency facing the Rams that doesn’t exist with the 49ers.

“It’s Super Bowl or bust for the Rams,” Riddick said. “I don’t think there’s anyone who would say they made the wrong choice trading for Stafford, but if they don’t win it all, that will be a conversation between (GM) Les Snead and (owner) San Kroenke as to whether or not they did the right thing.”

The deal for Stafford — as well as cornerback Jalen Ramsey and most recently outside linebacker Von Miller — have shorn the Rams of draft picks into the future and have greatly reduced the Rams’ margin for error in terms of personnel.

“You have to nail everything, and the guy you traded for has to be who you thought he would be and then you need the end result of winning the big one,” Riddick said.

Riddick believes Stafford is unmatched as a pure passer.

“He was Patrick Mahomes before Patrick Mahomes,” Riddick said.

But Riddick also thinks the 49ers going all-in on Lance was the right thing to do.

“I went to Fargo (North Dakota) for his pro day. Got to talk to him, got to know some of the people that have tutored him in the predraft process, to help him get ready,” Riddick said. “I thought Atlanta and the 49ers were the best fits for him.

“His football intellect is off the charts. Work ethic, off the charts. Personal character, off the charts. He just played at a lower level of football and doesn’t have a lot of starts under his belt. He’ll get there. You know how it is with quarterbacks. It’s either he’d better be a starter right now or send him to Canada.”

Riddick believes injuries and depth issues are the factors that have the 49ers’ 2021 season on the ropes.

“This league is set up for parity, and when you lose front-line, blue-chip players at premium positions and your depth players represent a significant dropoff in talent, it can get hairy for you very quickly,” Riddick said. “I think we’re seeing that. Their depth is going to have to develop and start playing better, or their guys who are hurt need to get healthy and healthy in a hurry.