Why Rice believes 49ers got ‘Ferrari' with Lance pick

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Trey Lance was the 49ers' choice with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, and franchise icon Jerry Rice firmly believes the team hit a home run with the selection of the North Dakota State quarterback.

"They have their Ferrari. I had the opportunity to talk to this kid, his family is very stable, they are backing him 100 percent," Rice told Bonta Hill, Kate Scott and Joe Shasky on 95.7 The Game. "He has a younger brother. And he is just very intelligent, we talked about that 'it factor.' And you hear me talk about that all the time, making players better around him. And I think he has that, so yeah, I think they have that Ferrari now."

Lance was a national champion at NDSU and brings a dual-threat element to the quarterback position that coach Kyle Shanahan hasn't had in the 49ers offense since arriving in 2017.

Shanahan defied many of the draft experts who continually linked the 49ers to Mac Jones at No. 3. Jones instead fell to the 15th overall pick, where he was swooped up by the New England Patriots.

RELATED: Who's Trey Lance? 10 things to know about 49ers' top pick

Given the price the 49ers paid to move up to the third pick, the pressure now falls on Shanahan and Lance to live up to the billing and deliver a Super Bowl back to the Bay Area.

Lance did top 1,000 yards rushing during his lone full season as a starter in college, and the speed he will bring to Shanahan's offense might make it feel like a sports car in 2021.

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