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For Deebo Samuel, he knew the exact time when Brock Purdy was NFL ready the moment he stepped into the huddle for the San Francisco 49ers. And it wasn’t during Purdy’s first NFL start versus the Miami Dolphins when the “wide back” knew Purdy was capable of the NFL moment.
It also wasn’t when Purdy got thrown in late during the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs when Samuel discovered Purdy was going to turn heads.
Samuel told the I Am Athlete Podcast released on Monday, February 13 that he saw Purdy’s potential two weeks before the regular season began…down in Houston versus the Texans.
“What I like so much about Purdy is, it kind of reflects what happened in preseason when we played Houston,” Samuel told the Panel. “Like, he ain’t know too much with what was going on in the moment. But you can see his confidence and just hearing him talk, and how he walked off the field and how he talked to Kyle [Shanahan] then being able to be thrown into the fire with OTAs, then mini camp, then training camp with no reps and not one person out there…and to see how he’s elevated week in and week out, it was just [incredible] and he’s still young.”
Samuel is a believer that Purdy belongs in the NFL and that his late season surge, even as the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, was no fluke.
“Purdy is legit. I think Purdy is going to be really good,” Samuel proclaimed.
Samuel Continues to Stand by NFC Title Game Words
Samuel didn’t just praise Purdy for being thrown into the fire and continue the 49ers’ flame into the NFC title game, but Samuel continues to believe that the Philadelphia Eagles would have never beaten the 49ers had Purdy got hurt.
He not only made those comments on the radio to Adam Schein on Mad Dog Sports Radio on Thursday, February 9, but he reiterate the same sentiment to the I Am Athlete hosts.
“If Purdy wouldn’t have gotten hurt, I don’t think the game would’ve been that close,” Samuel said, continuing his belief the 49ers would’ve represented the NFC at Glendale, Arizona instead of the Eagles.
NFL Insider Reveals the Trait Scouts Overlooked on Purdy
One constant question that’s become popularized after Purdy’s sudden emergence: How did scouts overlook him?
NFL insider Tom Pelissero offered an explanation in sitting down with Matt Maiocco and Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area before the Super Bowl. He revealed the trait where scouts “overlooked” Purdy.
“He’s like a lot of the guys that Kyle Shanahan has found through the years, where he’s not necessarily the biggest guy with the biggest arm, but he can process really fast,” Pelissero said. “That’s the number one characteristic Kyle looks for in quarterbacks is, ‘Can you process it?’ Because Kyle’s skill is he gets people open.”
Long story short, Purdy had the cerebral advantage compared to quarterbacks in the same rookie class. And Purdy benefitted from who surrounded him on the field to give him even more of an upper hand.
“On an offense that’s got Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel, and [Brandon Aiyuk] and [George] Kittle, and go down the list, [Purdy] can function at a pretty high level because he can see it,” Pelissero said. “He can process it. He gets the ball where it needs to go.”
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