Brock Purdy was vastly overlooked heading into the 2022 NFL Draft. The quarterback didn't have the size, athleticism, or big arm teams covet, resulting in Purdy nearly going undrafted. Luckily, the San Francisco 49ers took a chance on him as the last overall pick.
Since then, Purdy has transformed from "Mr. Irrelevant" into a key player for the 49ers. As the starting quarterback, he has the potential to become the highest-paid player in NFL history next year. His remarkable 2023 season, which saw him set a single-season franchise record with 4,280 passing yards, has only added to his growing legacy.
After Monday's practice, George Kittle sat down with NFL Network's Omar Ruiz and David Carr and discussed his quarterback. The tight end highlighted Purdy's skill in navigating the pocket, noting his ability to find open passing lanes despite his height.
"When you're not a 6-foot-4 quarterback, you kind of get lost behind the line of scrimmage sometimes, behind the big offensive linemen," Kittle shared. "He does a really good job of finding the gap. And so, you can still see him as he's throwing you the football. It just doesn't come out of nowhere. And he does that every once in a while, too, because there's nothing you can do about it.
"But he does a good job of finding that gap and just throwing it right through there, and it makes it really easy as wide receiver to track the ball and then catch it going full speed."
This offseason marks Purdy's first full one as a starter. During his rookie year, he was focused on taking advantage of his limited opportunities to secure a roster spot. Last year, he didn't throw to teammates until training camp as he recovered from offseason surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his throwing arm. This year, Purdy has been fully engaged in all aspects of the team's offseason work.
Kittle believes the entire 49ers offense will benefit from Purdy's increased offseason workload.
"I think all it's going to do is help with his confidence," Kittle said. "You know, he just gets to run the offense the way he wants to run it. And I think the fun thing is, too, is the better Brock is playing, the more he's comfortable with everything. ... And [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] lets him read the offense how he wants to read it. He's saying, 'Hey, go A to B to C,' or whatever it is, 'one, two, to three.' But it's his offense now with Brock, and so there's certain plays that he really likes. He knows how to read them. He knows how to set everybody up.
"So I think, Brock, just the more he plays with it, the more freedom he's going to have with it, the more confidence he's going to have with it. And if Brock's playing with confidence, we're going to play with a ton of confidence."
