Alex Smith Breaks His Silence on the 49ers’ Current QB Situation

Getty Alex Smith at the Pebble Bleach Golf Links on February 5, 2022.

Alex Smith has an idea of what the San Francisco 49ers are facing in the quarterback room. After all, there was a period where it came down to either him or Colin Kaepernick to lead the franchise — with Smith continuing then ending his career elsewhere.

Is he witnessing deja vu in looking at the state of the 2023 QB room in the Bay Area? The former first overall pick, who guided the Niners to the 2011 season NFC championship game, broke his silence on looking at the 49ers’ quarterback dilemma with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco Saturday, July 15 at the American Century Championship Golf Tournament at South Lake Tahoe.

In reality, Smith himself has taken a liking to the fact there will be a heated battle for the top QB reins.

“We love to pit them against each other, right?” Smith asked Maiocco. “But the true reality is that’s not the case. Brock Purdy‘s going down his journey. Certainly, he got his elbow deal that he’s rehabbing now and trying to come back from, but he’s trying to be the best quarterback he can be. Trey Lance, no different, right? Sam Darnold, no different. And that doesn’t conflict. They can all get along and do it. And actually, competition can bring out the best in all of them.”

Smith Evaluates the QBs, Starting With Purdy

Purdy is obviously in a much different situation than Smith ever faced. Smith, again, went first overall in his draft class. Purdy went last overall for the 2022 class. But immediately won over 49er fans with his moxie and play that ended in an appearance in the NFC title game.

Purdy didn’t just walk into a situation where he was “Mr. Irrelevant.” He also stepped into a scenario where there was a lot to process information wise on the 49ers offense. Smith, himself, understood the latter situation for Purdy.

“And I know, in that system, there’s a lot on the quarterback’s plate, from a processing standpoint, and I think he showed enough that, absolutely, he’s got it,” Smith said.

The former quarterback turned analyst additionally touched base on Purdy’s pre-draft process and how the measurables — height, weight, speed, hand strength, hand size, arm strength, etc. — become the central focus. But Smith adds there’s one last area that should be a focus for scouts and NFL teams…the area Purdy showed he excelled in: Processing.

“In the end, quarterbacking, certainly, there’s a level of accuracy. You’ve got to be able to throw on time and hit your targets. But it’s really processing. It’s really between your ears,” Smith said. “You’ve got to be able to process a lot, fast, and there’s not a great way to quantify that yet.

Smith continued with: “And again, height, 40, arm strength, that stuff really is secondary at the NFL level, and I think he’s got the things that you’re looking for to win sustainably.”

What Smith Said About Trey Lance & Sam Darnold

Smith then dove into what his thoughts are on Trey Lance and Sam Darnold. He’s sympathetic toward the former — given the fact Lance continues to be the recipient of outside noise and criticism.

“I still love Trey’s future,” Smith said. “I think he’s incredibly talented. I think he’s a great kid that works really hard. He was so young; he was 20 years old when he got drafted. His college experience was so unique. He’s battled some injuries.”

Smith’s key for Lance is “he needs to block out the noise, block out the distractions, and continue to go to work, and just become the player he wants to be, and work towards that. And that’s hard. That’s not easy to do, especially as a young kid.”

But Smith had identical sympathy for Darnold for this fact: Smith, too, played for multiple coaches and offensive coordinators which impacted his career. The third overall pick of 2018 Darnold has faced an identical conundrum.

“He bounced around a little bit, but he’s had a ton of coaching change,” Smith said. “He’s never really had a great cast. I feel like he’s carried a lot of weight as a young player. He tried to do too much, and he’s an incredibly talented kid. And I think now you’re going into a system where you just got to be the point guard for the 49ers. Just run the offense.”

And this time, Darnold is going to an offense where Smith says a simple check down pass to Christian McCaffrey or a dump pass to George Kittle can still eat up lots of yards.

Smith: “I don’t think, for the first time, he’s going to feel that pressure that he’s got to do too much. He can just go operate.”