49ers' Lynch: Shanahan's system would be 'big challenge' for rookie QB
The star of the Atlanta Falcons' season - save for the second half of the Super Bowl - was Kyle Shanahan's offense, which lit up the scoreboards like few units have done in NFL history.
Shanahan will bring his system to the San Francisco 49ers as the team's new head coach, but first, he and general manager John Lynch must find a quarterback capable of executing the complex offense.
"We've already discussed it but we're going to get together and find out exactly what he's looking for in a quarterback," Lynch said on KNBR-AM, according to Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News. "We're going to evaluate the guys we have. We're going to evaluate the draft. We're going to look hard at free agency, trades, whatever we need to do to get a guy."
Due to the difficulty of Shanahan's offense, which took veteran Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan a full season to get comfortable in, Lynch said it could be hard for the 49ers to go into the season with a rookie pivot.
"You get in Kyle Shanahan's system and you've got 15-word plays," Lynch said. "The coach is in your ear but you still have to replicate that with confidence and authority. It's a big challenge."
San Francisco holds the second overall pick in this year's draft, and quarterbacks Deshaun Watson, DeShone Kizer, and Mitch Trubisky are all possibilities at that slot.
However, reports indicate Shanahan's first choice would be to land a passer with some experience, with the likes of Kirk Cousins and Jimmy Garoppolo on the 49ers' radar, though acquiring either would take significant draft capital and money.
- With h/t to NFL.com