49ers Coach: Trey Lance’s Rapport with Brandon Aiyuk Better Now Than Deebo, Kittle

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If you have been paying attention to San Francisco 49ers training camp thus far, odds are good you have seen highlights of a spectacular play between Trey Lance and Brandon Aiyuk.

49ers passing game coordinator Bobby Slowik told David Lombardi and Matt Barrows of The Athletic that Lance’s rapport with Aiyuk is better than it is with Deebo Samuel and George Kittle at this point.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise because Lance and Aiyuk spent time working out together during the offseason.

Aiyuk told Angelina Martin of NBC Sports Bay Area in July that he and Lance shared a house in the offseason to build their rapport.

“We got to stay in the same house together with a couple other people and just hang out by the fire, talk, really just get to know who he is and him getting to know who I am outside of playing football,” Aiyuk said.

Their work together has paid off so far in training camp, based on some of the clips posted on Twitter by the 49ers:

Samuel just started practicing with the offense this week after ending his hold-in on Monday when he signed a three-year contract extension.

There’s an argument that Lance is the most interesting player in the NFL heading into this season.

One year after being the No. 3 pick in the NFL draft and playing sparingly as a rookie, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan made it clear that Lance is going to be the starting quarterback in 2022.

San Francisco reached the NFC Championship Game last season with Jimmy Garoppolo under center.

Lance’s skill set has the potential to open things up for Shanahan’s offense and make the 49ers a Super Bowl favorite if he turns into the player the team thinks he can be.

But if things don’t go the way Shanahan and the 49ers expect for Lance, they could fall into a rut for a long time. The 22-year-old’s already strong rapport with one of their best offensive weapons, as well as the budding chemistry he will develop with Samuel and Kittle, is at least a big reason to be optimistic.