The San Francisco 49ers have concluded six of their ten scheduled training camp practices, coming off an off day Wednesday for the second week of sessions beginning Thursday.
Through the first week, all the scrutiny has been on the quarterbacks, as Brock Purdy has returned from his torn UCL injury, while Sam Darnold and Trey Lance are duking it out for the backup spot.
How have the three top quarterbacks performed halfway through camp?
Brock Purdy
Brock Purdy has practiced in four of the six training camp sessions thus far, and has seen action solely with the first-team offense when on the field.
Purdy has seen some highs and lows, struggling during the first day of training camp, while picking it up during his second day in a closed practice to the media.
Still, Purdy hasn't looked great in his return, although that's expected for a player coming off as big of a layoff that the quarterback has seen.
He arguably had his best day of camp on Day 6, although it wasn't spectacular, as I graded his performance a "B", given some of the sacks he took, despite some of the accuracies he showcased on the day.
Here are my grades for Purdy on the three days I've seen him in action:
Day 2: C-
Day 5: C
Day 6: B
Has he looked the part of an NFL starting quarterback yet? No. But, Purdy has another week before joint practices and the preseason to get his feet underneath him to prepare for the regular season.
Trey Lance
Trey Lance has seen some of the highs, as well as some of the lows of training camp, making a variety of nice throws, but also showcasing some of the issues that plagued him last offseason.
Lance started camp slow, struggling on the first few days before finding his groove through the second set of three practices.
Lance's mechanics look more sound, which was an area of priority this offseason, and his arm talent is clearly present, presenting for a good competition with Sam Darnold this offseason.
Lance has done well down the field, hitting a majority of his intermediate and deeper passes, but has seen inconsistencies in the short game, an area of concern in the past.
If Lance can build off his consistency from the past few days through the last week of camp, there can be argument for him as the top quarterback, but that'll only come if he can show the full package of plays.
Here are my grades for Lance over the five practices I've watched:
Day 1: B
Day 2: C-
Day 4: B+
Day 5: A
Day 6: B-
Sam Darnold
Darnold had the moniker of the most consistent camp quarterback… until he struggled on Day 6, completing just 1/5 passes with a few poor misses.
Darnold impressed me to begin camp, as I came in with lower expectations.
He he looks like a prototypical NFL quarterback, and had initially stacked days of consistency, although there hasn't necessarily been a standout day.
Darnold's arm talent has been evident, with the decision-making serving as the main inconsistency, which has led to a lower accuracy mark thus far.
The best word to describe him: average.
Here are my grades for Darnold during the five practices I've seen:
Day 1: C+
Day 2: C
Day 4: A
Day 5: B
Day 6: F
Overall
Through six practices, I can't really tell who of the three options has looked better thus far, which is somewhat telling about the situation.
None of the options have blown me away thus far, with middling performances mixed with good days.
If I were to choose, I'd lean towards Trey Lance or Sam Darnold, but it's not necessarily the returns fans may have been hoping for thus far.
Now, the focus shifts towards the second week of training camp practices, where the pressure will be intensified for each quarterback to show a level of consistency and perform.
- Rohan Chakravarthi
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Written by:Writer/Reporter for 49ers Webzone
