Brock Purdy is not the answer for the San Francisco 49ers at quarterback. Don’t let football talking heads fool you into thinking this run will help him lockdown the starting job long term. Nor does this run prove he is a starting-caliber passer. All we have here is a case of the right man being in the right place at the right time.
And there is nothing wrong with that. As we saw with Nick Foles in 2017, you can win a Super Bowl with this formula. However, it is vital to study the former Eagles quarterback, as well as similar passers, to understand why Brock Purdy is not the answer for the San Francisco 49ers.
We have seen time and again that you don’t need a great quarterback to make a playoff run in the NFL. Foles, Jared Goff, Peyton Manning in 2015, Rex Grossman, both starters in Super Bowl XXXV and Neil O’Donnell are just a few examples of that. A good team with a sound scheme and elite defense can get by with a game manager.
That describes Purdy’s run with San Francisco in 2022. This is by no means meant as a slight. However, it would be foolish to think the 49ers have found their starter for the next 15 seasons. The comparisons to Kurt Warner are ridiculous.
The easiest way to separate elite quarterbacks from lucky ones is to look at their feet. Are they calm or do they bounce around like a six-year-old who just ate a case of Fun Dips? This is Warner during his first career NFL start. Notice anything?
Even under pressure, his feet are calm. On the other hand, Purdy is constantly moving his feet once he hits the end of his drop back. He is fine on timing throws. But after that, he moves as if a fire alarm is going off. That is a horrible trait for a quarterback.
Of course, the San Francisco signal caller has more or less avoided disaster in 2023 thanks to a great scheme and capable group of pass catchers. Throwing contested balls to Deebo Samuel and George Kittle behind a good offensive line will always produce better results than Matt Ryan doing the same thing to Michael Pittman Jr. and Mo Alie-Cox behind five turnstiles.
At the end of the day, maybe Purdy is the guy. Or maybe the 49ers can protect him through scheme and talent over the next few years so he develops into an elite quarterback. However, history shows John Lynch and company may not want to buy that fur coat from Burlington Coat Factory just yet.
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