Tom Pelissero says 49ers’ Brock Purdy has been a top-10 QB the past two years

When ESPN released its list of top-10 NFL quarterbacks, based on votes by nearly 80 league executives, coaches, and scouts, one name was missing that many believed should have been included. Whenever there's a list such as this, there will always be players not included who some believe should have been. But when the player overlooked in this year's quarterback list is the NFL's top-rated passer from 2023, it's understandable that much discussion will follow.

Such is the case for San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy, who league executives, coaches, and scouts do not believe is worthy of being listed among the game's best. Although Purdy wasn't included, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler did give the 49ers' signal-caller honorable mention. "One of the NFL's best stories, Purdy, the last pick of the 2022 draft, is 17-4 as a starter, a near-Super Bowl winner, and an MVP finalist," Fowler wrote. "His play is incredibly efficient, with a league-leading 72.8 QBR in his first full year as a starter. He's already on the board with four playoff wins. All of this has put him into the fringe top 10 category."

Even Fox Sports' Skip Bayless, a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan, disagrees with Purdy being left off the list. Bayless said he would take Purdy over Cowboys' QB Dak Prescott and Green Packers' QB Jordan Love.

"It's called intangibles," Bayless said. "Does Dak have a little better arm than Brock Purdy? I don't know. They're about the same to me. Maybe I'll give you a touch, Dak, just a touch better. Brock Purdy can move around. I think he moves better than Dak does. And yet, intangibles, when it's time to make the throw that wins the game, I'll take Brock Purdy."

Bayless isn't the only one in the media who believes Purdy should be in the top 10. ESPN NFL insider, Tom Pelissero, appearing on the Rich Eisen Show this week (h/t @Coach_Yac) said that what Purdy has done the past two seasons certainly looks like a top-10 quarterback.

"I just don't know what more, other than continuing to do it and winning a Super Bowl, people would want from Brock Purdy," Pelissero said. "Is he going to be the highlight reel of a Lamar [Jackson] or a Patrick Mahomes? No, but Kyle Shanahan, the system aren't built around making plays outside the scope of the offense or needing to make sidearm throws and things like that. Kyle's greatest skill is getting people open. He can scheme people open. What he needs is a quarterback who knows where the open guy is going to be based on the look that they're getting and gets the ball there without any hesitation.

"It is a rhythm, timing-based offense, and Brock Purdy has shown he did at a really high level. I mean, if you want to, you want to split hairs and say, well, he'll never be Patrick Mahomes. Yeah, he won't. Like, what are we talking about, though?"

No one would expect Purdy to be listed up there with Mahomes, Jackson, Josh Allen, or Joe Burrow. But for Purdy to be ranked lower than quarterbacks like Prescott or Jared Goff, especially when you factor in postseason play and clutch moments, it's no wonder that many are frustrated with the former Iowa State QB's absence from the list.

"Brock Purdy has already won more playoff games than Lamar Jackson in the course of his career," Pelissero continued. "So if the goal is to win football games and you can rely on Brock Purdy to get the ball into the right people's hands, that should be what you're targeting. I guess the question then becomes, once you pay Brock Purdy can you afford to have this level of running backs and receivers, an expensive tight end, a really expensive defense? Can you afford to have those parts?

"But that goes for everybody. Patrick Mahomes can elevate the level of the people around him. Brock Purdy, is he elevating the level or is he playing up to the level of really good weapons around him? That's the next step for Brock Purdy. But you still don't have to worry about it this year because he's still not eligible for a contract extension this year. I think it's hard to look at the past two years and say Brock Purdy, just based on those two years, has not been a top-ten quarterback in the NFL."

The 49ers expect Purdy to continue to play at a high level again in 2024. If he does, he will likely be rewarded with a new contract in the 2025 offseason. And that contract could make him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL.

• Marc Adams
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