Why Brock Purdy is the future of the San Francisco 49ers.
Written by Vir Rawal
1/25/23
As the 262nd pick in the 2022 NFL draft, Brock Purdy gained the “Mr. Irrelevant” name given to the last pick in the draft and was selected by the 49ers. At the start of the season, it was nearly certain that the 49ers would finally start their young injury-ridden QB, Trey Lance, however, Lance would suffer another injury during the 49ers week 2 win over the Seahawks that would rule him out for the season. Jimmy Garoppolo, who has led the team for the last few years would take the spot back, but this would only last until week 13 when Garoppolo would suffer an injury, leading the Niners to start Purdy.
During Purdy’s tenure with the 49ers as starting QB, he has been undefeated with a record of 5-0 in the regular season and a record of 2-0 in the postseason. As a young QB, Purdy has shown remarkable efficiency statistics compared to some of his peers who have had years to get acclimated to the environment of the NFL. In this case, Purdy stands out compared to other young QBs in the league in the stretch he started. In his 5 regular season games with the 49ers, Purdy has passed for 1374 yards, 13 TDs, and has thrown 4 interceptions. Purdy has a completion percentage of 67.1% and a QBR of 65.5. Furthermore Purdy has a bad throw percentage (percent of throws that are considered bad) of just 12.1 percent, this is significantly lower than other young QBs in the league. It’s also important to note that he’s still the only undefeated QB left in the NFL.
While Purdy has certainly proved something around the league with his performances, it’s clear that he has also proved something to the 49ers organization. When comparing the quarterbacks of the 49ers, Purdy has clearly proved himself to be the most reliable option, and when comparing his stats to Jimmy Garopollo and Trey Lance, he is clear of both at this point in time. Lance has only had 4 starts in the NFL and struggled to find his footing in all of the games he had played. Garoppolo is infamous for bringing the level of his team down and has proved himself an unreliable option in the playoffs.
Going forward, it seems as if Purdy can only improve. It’s important to note he is currently the youngest quarterback left in the playoffs and a strong argument can be made for the 49ers being Super Bowl favorites. As long as he can stay healthy, Purdy has been exactly what the 49ers need on offense and is clear of both Garoppolo and Lance.
