The San Francisco 49ers draft Brock Purdy with the 262nd pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Mr. Irrelelvant. He started his career as a backup to Trey Lance, for whom the San Francisco 49ers traded a gaudy amount of draft capital to move up. Unfortunately for Lance, he could not grasp the San Francisco 49ers playbook.
He took the reins in 2022 as a starter, but he was injured two games in and did not look like a starting quarterback. Between the two games, he threw for 194 yards and an interception. Jimmy Garoppolo filled in until Week 13 when he was then injured. Then it was Brock Purdy’s turn.
The San Francisco 49ers Ghost GM
Mike Shanahan, the father of San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and a hall-of-fame coach, has a lot of clout within the organization. Though he does not have an actual title, John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan keep Mike Shanahan informed on decisions and listen to his insight. Adam Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle spoke of talks he had with Mike Shanahan,
“Now they open against the Bears, it’s Trey Lance’s first game as the unquestioned starter. The day before I go to Mike Shanahan’s room and I’m sitting up there and I’m asking him about Trey Lance and he again brings up Purdy and he says ‘When you have a guy like that in your building, you don’t let him out.’ So he’s still got it.”
When Mike Shanahan talks, you listen. He played with John Elway as his quarterback for most of his career and invented the San Francisco 49ers’ run-base scheme.
The San Francisco 49ers QB is in Elite Company
Patrick Mahomes is widely considered the best quarterback in the NFL. He makes throws that are mind-boggling and not humanly possible. His career numbers are impressive, to say the least, but if you match them up to Brock Purdy, you will be surprised.
Since the start of last season
Brock Purdy Patrick Mahomes
14-6 W-L 14-6
5,410 Pass Yards 5,087
36/13 Pass TD/INT 33/19
111.3 Pass Rating 92.1… pic.twitter.com/TeT5pnjg0D— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) September 30, 2024
Purdy has more yards, a better touchdown to interception ratio, and a better QB rating. Purdy has been to an NFC Championship and Super Bowl during his starting tenure. Though he does not have a Super Bowl ring, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback is poised to get one.
San Francisco 49ers Stars Injured – No Problem
Purdy has had to deal with plenty of adversity to start the 2024 season, to say the least. He has yet to play a snap with Christian McCaffery. Deebo Samuel missed a game with an injury. George Kittle missed Week 3. Brandon Aiyuck had the off-season nightmare and missed most of camp. How has Purdy responded?
#49ers QB Brock Purdy through first three weeks with NFL rank:
QBR – 74.1 (4th)
Completion % – 72.6% (7th)
Pass yards – 842 (2nd)
CPOE – 9.8% (1st by nearly double)
Yards/attempt – 8.9 (2nd)
Air yards/attempt – 9.6 (3rd)
Pass TDs – 4 (T-7th)
Off target % – 8.4% (3rd lowest)— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) September 23, 2024
That led to the San Francisco 49ers Week 4 matchup against the Patriots. Purdy is 5th overall in total QBR this season and 2nd in passing yards (1,130). Even missing time with some of the best offensive weapons in the NFL, Purdy seems to dominate. He makes the type of touch throws that maybe even Mahomes could not.
Brock Purdy to George Kittle for the touchdown!pic.twitter.com/7sgW5Gj6GL
— CycloneFanatic.com (@cyclonefanatic) September 29, 2024
That is an incredibly tight window into triple coverage, only where his man can get the ball.
Purdy followed that up with a beautiful deep ball to Jajuan Jennings later in the game:
Brock Purdy with a DIME to Jauan Jennings!
What a catch by JJ as well 🔥 pic.twitter.com/V6Eg8Lv4Mf
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) September 29, 2024
Purdy has been knocked for his deep ball; doubters should be on watch. He can make every throw possible in the NFL with confidence, arm strength, and accuracy. What Purdy has that is not talked about enough is his elite NFL IQ. He was never high-profile, but he understands the game. Purdy picked up Shanahan’s offense almost instantly—an offense that needs its quarterback to make pre-snap reads and audibles with constant motion.
Purdy does this and at an elite level. The San Francisco 49ers have a top-3 quarterback in Brock Purdy. The 49ers recognize this; it is time the rest of the league does.
