Jimmy Garoppolo was playing some impressive football, winning four consecutive starts heading into December. Of course, San Francisco 49ers have heard that story before and know how it often ends. Something always seems to go wrong for the oft-injured quarterback, and the 2022 season was no different. Garoppolo suffered a broken foot on December 4 and did not suit up again for the team.
The bright side is that his replacement, rookie Brock Purdy, stepped in, and the team didn't miss a beat. The 49ers' win streak extended to 12 games until Purdy suffered his own injury, a torn ligament in his throwing shoulder, in the NFC Championship Game.
Many will say that the 49ers looked even better after Purdy took over as the starting quarterback. The team's scoring jumped from 23.9 points per game under Garoppolo to 32.6 points per game under Purdy in the games leading to the NFC title matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
NFL analyst and senior producer for NFL Films Greg Cosell named two things that Purdy can do that Garoppolo cannot.
"One was [he has] much lighter, quicker feet," Cosell recently told NBC Sports Bay Area. "So you saw much more play-action boot because he's able to do that. Jimmy G could not really do that well. And the second thing was Purdy has second-reaction movement. He can make improvisational plays. We know that Jimmy G really was not that guy. So it expanded what the 49ers could do."
Despite being the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, No. 262 overall, and playing only a portion of the season, Purdy came in third for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. The 23-year-old finished his rookie regular season completing 67.1 percent of his passes for 1,374 yards, 13 touchdowns, and just four interceptions.
Earlier this month, ESPN conducted a hypothetical re-draft of the 2022 rookie class, and Purdy was selected with the fourth overall pick. So what did evaluators miss with the young quarterback?
Cosell notes that Purdy was benched twice at Iowa State.
"So Brock Purdy, he had a really good sophomore year, and there were a lot of people after that sophomore year—and I watched that tape, by the way, and I liked him then, but I didn't think he was a top 50 pick after his sophomore year," the analyst explained. "I guess I'd answer it this way: If you were talking to offensive coaches and you said, 'Make a list of your top 15 quarterback traits,' they probably all have the same 15 traits. Then the question becomes, What value does a particular coach ascribe to those traits? And you then you'd start to get different answers.
"My guess is Kyle Shanahan might ascribe different value to quarterback traits than [Giants head coach] Brian Daboll or another. That name just popped into my head. I would bet Bill Walsh would ascribe different value to quarterback traits as opposed to Mike Martz."
Of course, Cosell refers to the traits you can observe from watching game film. He doesn't sit down with these players and talk to them. His evaluations are purely based on what players do on the football field.
Watching Purdy, Cosell sees two things the young quarterback needs to improve upon.
"Number one, when he felt pressure, he started to retreat backwards," Cosell said. "You can't retreat backwards in the NFL. And the other thing is, when he felt pressure, he would automatically run to his left, and teams would start to force him. I'm telling you right now, if he wasn't hurt and all that, teams would start to force him to do that because you see how a guy plays over time, you get a book on him."
Cosell adds that the nearly eight full games Purdy played are not enough to determine whether a player is good or bad. That's a decision that the 49ers will have to make this offseason. Complicating the situation is Purdy missing the next six months after undergoing surgery on Wednesday. That leaves third-year quarterback Trey Lance as the uncontested option for the entire offseason.
Once Purdy can practice again, coaches must compare his progress to Lance's before picking a starter for the 2023 season.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Cosell below. It begins at about the 21-minute mark.
