Brock Purdy wasn't supposed to do the things he's doing in the NFL. When the San Francisco 49ers selected the former Iowa State quarterback with the last pick in the 2022 NFL draft, no one expected Purdy to be a Pro Bowl QB who led the league in multiple categories and took his team to the Super Bowl in his second season, and first as the team's full-time starter.
But that's exactly what Purdy did in 2023. He led the NFL in passer rating, QBR, TD%, yards per attempt, yards per completion, net yards gained per pass attempt, and more. He was fourth in NFL MVP voting, and sixth in Offensive Player of the Year. And he did all of this after suffering a torn UCL only months before.
As a rookie, he took his team to the NFC Championship, where he sustained the injury. A year later, he took his team one step further, almost winning the Super Bowl. The question this season is whether or not Purdy and his teammates can finish the job.
Former NFL QB Drew Brees, appearing on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, spoke with the host about Purdy and what they think of him. Cowherd admitted that it took him a while to come around on Purdy because he just thought it was Kyle Shanahan's system and all the great weapons around him that made him look good. But Cowherd said he's come around and now realizes that Purdy is really good.
Brees, however, did not need time to come around. He says he noticed Purdy had it the first time he saw him play, which was Purdy's first game as a rookie when he replaced an injured Jimmy Garoppolo as the team's starting quarterback.
"I could tell the moment I saw the first half of the first game that he played, I'm like: 'OK, this guy is in command of the offense," Brees said. "This guy is in and out of the huddle. He's controlling the line of scrimmage, the shifts, the motions, all the things that offense requires in a field general to be able to coordinate. Oh man, he's got incredible rhythm, he throws with a great base. He's very calm, he's very poised, nothing seems to shake him. So all those things I pick up on right away. And then it's like, 'Okay, where the heck did this guy come from?'"
49ers fans didn't expect Purdy to do all the things he's done either. I recall watching Garoppolo being carted to the locker room in the first quarter of the game against the Miami Dolphins and tweeting, "The 49ers may be watching their season flash before their eyes." I was wrong. Purdy is what fans hoped Garoppolo would be. And now their franchise quarterback is only months away from likely signing a new deal that could make him one of the highest-paid players in NFL history. And yet, none of these moments seem to be too big for Purdy.
"And then you start looking at him, and you're like, okay, this makes perfect sense," Brees added. "Here's a guy who started almost 50 games in college. He played at a school where 90% of the time they stopped on the field, they were the underdogs. They weren't winning any beauty contests, they weren't the pregame competitions. And they were having to kind of gut it out, right? He played in a bunch of close games, a bunch of really competitive games. That molds you. That's then who you become. That becomes what you're used to.
"So then, all of a sudden, these big-time situations, going into moments where people are doubting you, where you're playing against people who are supposed to be better than you, that doesn't phase you anymore. So much of playing this position, at the highest level in the NFL, is about confidence. It's about belief, it's about faith. And the guys that are really good at it, there's just an unwavering faith and confidence, no matter what the situation."
Purdy has not lacked confidence and has handled himself extremely well so far. Brees mentioned playing with a chip on your shoulder. Purdy plays with a large chip and is fueled by his doubters. It seems the 49ers may finally have found their franchise quarterback.
