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Brock Purdy is still a relatively new 49ers phenomenon, and he has not quite earned the respect of everyone around the league.
That makes some sense. He was, after all, the final player chosen in the 2022 NFL draft, and he does have just 12 starts to his credit. Sure, he’s 11-1 in those starts, but perhaps that’s not so difficult when you have one of the best wide receiver combos in the league (Deebo Samuels and Brandon Aiyuk), one of the best tight ends (George Kittle), the best full back (Kyle Juszczyk) and by far the best running back (Christian McCaffrey).
It does not hurt to have, arguably, the best offensive coach in the NFL calling your plays, either. In fact, Purdy has been called, more than once, a “system quarterback,” a guy who would not be successful anywhere but playing for Shanahan in San Francisco.
Asked about that assessment of Purdy on Wednesday, Shanahan rolled his eyes.
“That’s pretty ridiculous. You just gotta watch the tape,” he said.
“He plays at a high level every time he’s been out there. He’s done it in a lot of different situations, versus a lot of different defenses, on the road, at home, playoff games, when injured. Can’t do all that stuff, he’s been out there too long.”
Purdy Leads NFL in QB Rating
Indeed, Purdy has put up impressive numbers to open this season. He ranks eighth in the NFL in passing yards, with 1,019 and third in completion percentage, at 72.9%. He is one of three regular quarterbacks with no interceptions on his mark, and he has a quarterback rating of 115.1, best in the NFL.
And he wins. Hard to argue with 11 of 12. Purdy just has not done it often enough for some, considering he has yet to play a full NFL season.
But the talent around him affects the opinion of Purdy, and that is not going to change. It even affects the numbers. Over at Pro Football Focus, the stats-crunchers who use what is known as the Bayesian Quarterback Rankings have Purdy as only a so-so quarterback, ranked 18th overall in the NFL—not terrible, but not great for the star of a 4-0 team.
PFF did grade Purdy well in Week 1 (73.2 overall) but dropped him in Weeks 2 (65.1) and 3 (61.1). He had his best game of the season, according to PFF’s grading system, in Week 4, when he rated a 79.8 grade.
49ers Have Faced Weak Defenses (Until Now)
Still, even the most dyed-in-the-wool Purdy backers would admit that it is not easy to make major declarations about Purdy based on the first four games this year, because he has seen some truly poor defenses. In terms of points allowed, the Rams are 15th in the NFL, the Steelers are 23rd, the Cardinals are 25th and the Giants are 30th.
That will change when the 49ers travel to Dallas to face the Cowboys, the team that has allowed the fewest points this season (41), the second-fewest overall yards (259.8) and the second-fewest passing yards (148.0). A win in Bg D would go a long way toward shutting down Purdy-bashing in all its forms.
Still, Shanahan is often asked about Purdy as though no one expects the coach to truly believe that a near-undrafted quarterback is as good as he is. The proof, Shanahan tends to say, is in the pudding—Purdy would not be the quarterback this year if Shanahan did not believe he could handle the role.
“He came in right away and didn’t make many mistakes on that stuff,” Shanahan said on Monday. “His first game was the hardest because he didn’t get the reps and stuff. But after that he always did get the reps and he was very prepared in those games.
“That’s why we were so impressed with him in the seven games we got to play with him and that’s why he gave us the confidence to go into this year with him.”
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