SANTA CLARA — Trey Lance was kind enough to show the world what I’ve been seeing on the practice field for the last few weeks.

His 80-yard touchdown pass to Trent Sherfield was the kind of play that not many quarterbacks in the NFL dare make — a 45-yard roll-out throw across the field to a streaking receiver going the other way.

It’s the kind of big-time throw that has been missing from the 49ers’ arsenal under Kyle Shanahan.

Yes, there have been big gains — George Kittle’s Sunday Night Football touchdown against the Packers in 2019 comes to mind — but those were schemed up; simple throws into massive windows.

Lance’s was neither easy nor obvious.

Scheme no doubt helped — it was a wonderful design — but this was a play that was made by a quarterback with the kind of talent to force the issue, to bend a defense.

And while Lance’s situational football still needs plenty of work, the No. 3 overall pick’s debut was anything but inauspicious because he showed off, if only for a few moments, the kind of game-breaking talent that will make him the 49ers’ starter sooner than you might think.

Shanahan might want to be a tactician, bleeding opposing defenses dry with a dozen swift cuts a drive, but the game doesn’t reward that anymore.

Just like how the 3-point shot revolutionized the NBA, the NFL has been changed — irrevocably — by spread offenses. Rule changes, scheme adaptations, and generational arms have made “chunk plays” not just normal, but necessary to win games.

Dink-and-dunk might bring quarterbacks great completion percentages and make coaches feel better about their offenses, but it’s a losing strategy in 2021.

And Shanahan can try to draw up big-yardage plays for duck-tossing quarterbacks all he wants, but in this new video-game-like reality, teams need a quarterback who can frequently push the ball downfield — even if that requires taking on some risk.

Even Tom Brady, the NFL’s greatest tactician, was third in the NFL in intended air yards per pass last season. The old man adapted to the times.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Garoppolo was second-to-last in the NFL in that category. His peers at the bottom of the list were not the kind of company you want to keep — Jared Goff, who was jettisoned from the Rams this past offseason for being the weak link of their team, Alex Smith, who retired at the end of the season, and Drew Brees, who might be a first-ballot Hall of Famer but was exposed in big games over the last couple of years because he couldn’t vertically stretch a defense, leading to his retirement.

Yes, Lance went 5-for-14 for 128 yards Saturday. But there were plenty of drops and some terrible blocking in front of him. To be fair, there were also some rookie mistakes and errant throws. In all, it wasn’t the kind of game that makes starting in Week 1 a stronger possibility — no sir — but I didn’t see anything in Saturday’s debut that disqualified him from starting in the first few weeks of the season. In fact, that 80-yard touchdown made be believe that the 49ers will need him sooner rather than later. Opposing defenses know how to beat Garoppolo. Lance might take his licks, but he’ll also make plays that cannot be defended — and he’ll improve as he seems more action.

It should also be noted that Lance — who has been running up and down the practice fields in Santa Clara to extend plays or execute read-options, was clearly told to stand and deliver in pockets that rarely existed.

“Some good things, some bad things,” Shanahan said about Lance at halftime. “It was good to get him out there. It was cool that he had a big play — we had a couple drops that ended a couple of drives. I wish we had done better in that two-minute situation.”

It sounds like his training camp.

But when you make a big-time throw like the one he made Saturday, you’re provided the benefit of the doubt. Put him behind an offensive line that isn’t imitating matadors and put some stick-um on receivers hands and Lance’s night might not have a downside to talk about Saturday.

Alas, it was an up-and-down debut. But those ups are spectacular.

And, in this modern game, necessary.

Rookie defensive backs impress

I won’t lie, after a couple of weeks of camp, I was wondering if Deommodore Lenoir was on the chopping block. He wasn’t practicing well and I was yet to hear a kind word said about him by a coach.

But on Saturday, he started at cornerback and was strong against a Chiefs’ wide receiver core that is as talented and deep as any team in the league.

Lenoir was really good, even picking off a pass from Chad Henne. (Thanks, Chad!)

Perhaps the Oregon product, who was a fifth-round pick in April’s draft, is just a gamer — he needs the juice that comes with a real game — even an exhibition one — in front of real fans.

It’s something to keep an eye on in the weeks to come. But it was nevertheless a welcome change for the 49ers, who are strapped for depth at the cornerback position.

I liked what I saw from Ambry Thomas, too. The Michigan man didn’t make any splash plays, but he was solid and kept everything in front of him. There’s nothing wrong with a wholly competent performance against a team as fast out wide as Kansas City.

Talanoa Hufanga had an up-and-down game at strong safety, but given the Niners’ needs at that position as well, it was an encouraging performance. Hufanga can lay the wood and is going to be an outstanding contributor in the run game and on special teams — the Niners need to put him in more coverage situations this preseason to see if he can hold up. If he can, he’ll start Week 1.

Pet play

(Randy Vazquez/ Bay Area News Group) 

The Niners are going to keep Jauan Jennings on the 53-man roster for one key reason — they love running screen plays with him.

Jennings is, by NFL standards, a lacking athlete. His combine testing scores are eye-popping — they’re really low.

But at Tennessee, on the practice field, and on Saturday, Jennings has shown an uncanny ability to grab yards in open space.

He’s not fast or particularly shifty, but NFL players can’t seem to bring him down at first contact.

While Shanahan wanted to hold back plenty for the regular season Saturday, he did not hold back the bubble screen to Jennings, who had two “rushes” for 23 yards.

And given the incredible struggles of almost every other receiver Saturday, Jennings’ nice runs from the Niners’ pet play for him and his slick 26-yard reception, I think we’ll be seeing more of Jennings in the weeks to come.

Final thought

SANTA CLARA, CA – JULY 29: San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Nsimba Webster (6) takes part in a drill during practice on Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Santa Clara, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) 

It was nice to see Nsimba Webster with a nice return and run in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game. Given Richie James’ struggles against the Chiefs, I wonder if there will be competition between the two for the final wide receiver — aka the returner — job in the weeks to come.