Brock Purdy still has his critics—those who downplay the 24-year-old's accomplishments during his brief NFL career. The quarterback led the San Francisco 49ers to the NFC Championship as a rookie. He followed that up with a Super Bowl appearance in his second season despite returning from surgery on his throwing arm that limited his offseason preparation.
Purdy set a single-season franchise record last year with 4,280 passing yards, surpassing the likes of Joe Montana, Steve Young, and Jeff Garcia. Despite this, naysayers attribute his success to his talented supporting cast or head coach Kyle Shanahan's system. However, Purdy's teammates fully understand his value to the organization.
"I've just been so impressed with what a leader he is," fullback Kyle Juszczyk told DJ Siddiqi in an interview with RG.org. "I think that's been a big development in the offseason, is the leadership of Brock. Guys have so much respect for what he's done. On the field, he's had so much success. But the way he carries himself, he commands respect. He does such a good job of stepping into the huddle and commanding respect from the veterans.
"I've been impressed with just the way he's handled the entire offseason. I think you're going to see an even better Brock Purdy this season."
An improved Purdy would be a boon for the Super Bowl-hopeful 49ers, who narrowly missed out on championship glory in February, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime in Super Bowl 58.
"Sometimes things just don't bounce your way," Juszczyk reflected. "Sometimes you can play really well and the other team just finds a way to be a little better in that right situation. Football is such a situational game. You flip just one tiny little situation—we had these guys on fourth-and-1—we could win the game right there."
Some have questioned Shanahan's ability to win the biggest games with the 49ers, but Juszczyk doesn't buy into that narrative.
"I don't buy into this theory that we can't win the big one," Juszczyk commented. "We've played in a lot of big games—win-or-go home games—and we've won those games. I have all of the confidence in the world that when we get another shot at it, we'll be ready to go."
Juszczyk admits he can only speculate about the criticisms aimed at Purdy. He finds them unfortunate, given how much Purdy has already achieved.
"I speculate that it's because he's the last pick in the draft," Juszczyk said. "He's not this big six-foot-four quarterback. He's not Lamar Jackson in the run game, where he's electrifying. But he just goes out there and plays incredible football. Very clean, fundamental and just continues to win."
Juszczyk added, "I hope he can really garner that respect from everyone because he truly does deserve it. The great thing about him is it doesn't really seem to faze him. Despite what people say, it doesn't change the way that the guy works, the way the guy performs. Regardless of how people view him, he's going to continue to do what he does."
