Drew Brees knows his way around the quarterback position — that much is evident by the simple fact that he is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. The New Orleans Saints legend retired with quite a few records to his name and a place waiting for him at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
While he is far from proving he can reach the same heights as Brees, former Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy has far exceeded the expectations with the San Francisco 49ers.
Once seen as “Mr. Irrelevant” as the final pick of the 2022 NFL draft, Purdy has become a legitimate starting NFL quarterback and has earned the praise and recognition of many around the league, including Brees.
“This is the way I look at Brock Purdy. Every single time he stepped on the field in college, he was an underdog,” Brees told me this week. “So, here’s a guy who always had to play kind of with an edge, with a chip on his shoulder.”
In conjunction with Cyclones standout Breece Hall, Purdy made everything Iowa State was doing offensively that much better, in the eyes of Brees.
“(He just) maximized everything about what they were doing offensively in order to win these games. And he’s very cerebral,” Brees said.
There have been some issues in San Francisco that need to be fixed, but Purdy in his own right has proven he can be the quarterback of the future for the team if they can put the right type of consistent pieces in place. Every team needs to support their quarterback, but that’s even more critical for young pros like Purdy.
“So, if he gets into a situation in San Francisco where he’s got a great offense, great run scheme, great head coach and he’s got all this high level experience, that equates to success right away,” Brees said. “I think there’s a lot that can be learned from that story when you talk about how you draft guys and the situations you put them in.”
The former Saints quarterback hopes that other teams can learn from the home run that San Francisco hit here.
Purdy will look to get back to business next season in hopes of returning to the Super Bowl stage, and he’ll likely do it with a new contract. He completed 65.9% of his passes for 3,684 yards with 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2024. The 49ers have done a great job taking care of Purdy to this point in his career, and they’ve worked hard to retain talent around him. Now it’s his turn to cash in after developing into someone they can because of, not just with.
