It’s not easy for a rookie quarterback to do what 49ers QB Brock Purdy did last season. He was thrust into the starting lineup in Week 13 to guide a team with Super Bowl aspirations. While there aren’t many physical tools that stand out with Purdy, there are some peripheral qualities that allowed him to achieve more than perhaps even the 49ers believed he would when they took him with the final pick of last year’s draft.
Former Cowboys quarterback and current CBS NFL broadcaster Tony Romo didn’t need long to see that Purdy would have success. He told Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee what he saw in the young QB:
“I know the timing of where things are supposed to be and what you’re looking at, and when you’re throwing the ball,” Romo said at the American Century Championship golf tournament. “A tenth of a second feels like a minute to me when I’m watching. … These little tenths of seconds are the difference and people either have spacial awareness — some people call it instincts. I call it the ability to use leverage against the opposing player. And then obviously your ability to react and use spacial awareness within that.
“And he has that. I saw it right away.”
Those non-quantifiable qualities may be more important than anything for Purdy as he navigates his career as a starter. Arm strength, size, speed and other physical tools are nice, but the natural processing ability and on-field awareness will certainly make life easier for the QB.
