Alex Smith sat down with Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area this week at the celebrity golf tournament near South Lake Tahoe. The quarterback situation is one of the top San Francisco 49ers-related offseason discussion topics. There is so much uncertainty there.
Brock Purdy has started only eight career games. Trey Lance, the former No. 3 overall pick, has started half that number. Sam Darnold is the most experienced quarterback, with 55 career starts, but has failed to meet expectations.
Smith, now an ESPN analyst, calls the Bay Area home. He watched what the 49ers went through last season. First, Lance goes down in Week 2. Then, Jimmy Garoppolo is injured during Week 13. Purdy, last season's biggest surprise rookie, guided the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game before suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow.
"And to see what [Purdy] did was unbelievable," Smith told Maiocco. "And obviously we all know what happened in the NFC Championship game. I'm not going to go into that. But fast forward into this year, obviously you've got Trey and Brock coming back, two young, really talented guys with bright futures."
While the offseason storylines have pitted the 49ers quarterbacks against each other, Smith realizes that there is a very different mentality internally.
"We love to pit them against each other, right?" Smith said. "But the true reality is that's not the case. Brock Purdy's going down his journey. Certainly, he got his elbow deal that he's rehabbing now and trying to come back from, but he's trying to be the best quarterback he can be. Trey Lance, no different, right? Sam Darnold, no different. And that doesn't conflict. They can all get along and do it. And actually, competition can bring out the best in all of them."
Smith went into more detail while discussing the three 49ers quarterbacks at the top of the depth chart.
Brock Purdy
Purdy did enough as a rookie last season to prove to the 49ers coaching staff that, once healthy, he should be the starting quarterback. Things appear to be trending in that direction, with the second-year quarterback ahead of schedule in his recovery.
No one expected Purdy to step into the starting role and command the offense like a seasoned veteran. He would have gone undrafted last year if the 49ers hadn't selected him with the last overall pick.
"We love to get caught up in the Combine, and kind of the underwear Olympics, and all the measurables—height, weight, speed, hand size, arm strength, how far can you throw it, and how many miles per hour does he throw it," Smith shared. "In the end, quarterbacking, certainly, there's a level of accuracy. You've got to be able to throw on time and hit your targets. But it's really processing. It's really between your ears. You've got to be able to process a lot, fast, and there's not a great way to quantify that yet.
"In our interview process, and the Combine, and all the weird tests you take, they haven't really found a great way to quantify that. And I think Brock showed he's got it right between the ears. It's not too big for him. This is a guy I know didn't get many reps in training camp. [He] finally got back up to number two [after Lance's injury], so he's running scout team. You're still not getting many reps. And then to step in and just operate the way he did, it wasn't too big. You could see him dial in.
"And I know, in that system, there's a lot on the quarterback's plate, from a processing standpoint, and I think he showed enough that, absolutely, he's got it. And again, height, 40, arm strength, that stuff really is secondary at the NFL level, and I think he's got the things that you're looking for to win sustainably."
Trey Lance
Smith is sympathetic toward Lance's situation. It is far too early in his career to make any kind of assessment with absolute certainty. The young quarterback hasn't had a lot of opportunity. In his four starts, he played through a finger injury in two, monsoon-like conditions in another, and suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the last.
"I still love Trey's future," Smith said. "I think he's incredibly talented. I think he's a great kid that works really hard. He was so young; he was 20 years old when he got drafted. His college experience was so unique. He's battled some injuries.
"So for him, he needs to block out the noise, block out the distractions, and continue to go to work, and just become the player he wants to be, and work towards that. And that's hard. That's not easy to do, especially as a young kid."
Sam Darnold
Smith sees some similarities in Darnold's career path to his own, bouncing around and repeatedly transitioning through multiple systems. The veteran quarterback finally finds himself on a roster that surrounds him with talent. Many will argue that it is among the most talented in the NFL.
"He bounced around a little bit, but he's had a ton of coaching change," Smith said. "He's never really had a great cast. I feel like he's carried a lot of weight as a young player. He tried to do too much, and he's an incredibly talented kid. And I think now you're going into a system where you just got to be the point guard for the 49ers. Just run the offense.
"If they throw the check down to [RB] Christian McCaffrey, throw the check down. I mean, that's a pretty good option, right? Throw the dump to [TE George] Kittle, and everything in between. And there's so many weapons, and I don't think, for the first time, he's going to feel that pressure that he's got to do too much. He can just go operate."
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