It’s difficult for a second-year quarterback to acquit himself as well as Brock Purdy did in 2023 – his first full season as a starting QB. He guided the 49ers to the Super Bowl and finished No. 4 in MVP voting. Still questions linger for some about Purdy’s viability as a franchise signal caller. Those questions are reflected perfectly in Purdy’s place in the TD Wire NFL QB rankings where he sits at No. 16 out of 36 quarterbacks ranked.
At first glance it seems outrageous to place a player as productive and efficient as Purdy was among the league’s middle-of-the-road QBs. He’s one spot ahead of Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield and one spot behind Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray. Purdy was more productive than both players last season and certainly had more success on the scoreboard.
The fact remains that there will be a lingering hesitation with Purdy until he has more sustained success.
Since he wasn’t a first-round pick and highly-touted prospect there’s not a built-in expectation of success where his play last season could have confirmed biases. Instead, since he was the final pick in the draft, the expectations are low enough that his coaching staff and supporting cast are considered the reasons for Purdy’s immediate success.
Jarrett Bailey, who did the rankings for TD Wire, laid out this exact reasoning for Purdy’s ranking:
I can’t wait to read all the comments from 49ers fans who point out all the statistics and advanced metrics that Purdy was near the top of the league in. I’m not going to repeat what I, and several others, have said since the beginning of this mania- Purdy is good, but he is elevated but everything around him.
And this is what Purdy will be required to overcome over the next five or six years. As players like Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Trent Williams and Christian McCaffrey depart and the roster changes, Purdy will have to maintain his level of productivity in order to get the respect his numbers would indicate he deserves.
At some point the QB’s sustained success will be laid at his own feet even if the 49ers keep an excellent roster. A hallmark of greatness is sustainability and Purdy simply hasn’t played enough football to have that on his side.
The good news for the 49ers is there’s a deep internal belief in Purdy as the franchise quarterback. He’s due for an extension after the 2024 season and he’s likely to get one commensurate with the NFL’s top signal callers. That won’t be enough to make him a consensus top QB, but it will pave the way for him to prove it.
