Barring any last-minute change, Jimmy Garoppolo will be the San Francisco 49ers' starting quarterback for their upcoming Week 1 opener against the Detroit Lions.

Garoppolo was in a quarterback duel with Trey Lance after San Francisco selected the former North Dakota State star with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Even though Garoppolo has presumably beat out Lance for the starting quarterback role, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has mentioned before that the rookie passer will feature this season.

This well excites longtime 49ers left tackle Joe Staley. The former six-time Pro Bowler sees that the 49ers' coaching staff will be able to catch opposing defenses off guard with offensive packages designed just for Lance.

In speaking to KNBR's “Papa and Lund” show, Staley went in-depth on what could be expected out of Lance in his rookie campaign.

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“It’s going to be very scary,” Staley said. “I think this is a hand-picked quarterback in Kyle Shanahan’s system and I think what’s so exciting about it is, now you have to play 11-on-11 football. You have to account for the quarterback when Trey’s out there.

“I think there’s going to be packages in certain situations that he will come in. I actually don’t even think it was gonna be a lot like how it was in the third preseason game where they’re rotating first series. Now, it could be, but I believe there’s going to be a very dictated, situational football that he comes in.”

Staley closely watched Lance in his preseason appearances last month. While performances in preseason are far from an indicator of just what could come in the regular season, there were a few plays from the 49ers quarterback that earned the stamp of approval from the former offensive lineman.

“But Trey allows Kyle to create number advantages,” Staley said. “So, when we saw one of these plays against the Raiders where he’s now reading the backside defensive end — which is usually accounted for by their backside tackle — and now they’re able to pull both of those guys into the hole, create a number advantage on the play side and then Trey now has to read that backside defensive end, and he has the speed of Raheem Mostert that can gain the edge, or he can keep the ball and follow the blockers and that’s Kyle’s system to a tee.

“I think he has to develop as a pocket passer because I do think defenses are going to really key on that stuff until he really develops the understanding of progressions and timing. But that will come. And I think once that gets out there, I think the sky’s the limit for this offense.”

As mentioned, Garoppolo is well expected to be the 49ers’ starting quarterback against the Lions. But it would be far from a surprise to see Lance make an appearance in the game as well.