San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle came to quarterback Brock Purdy's defense during an appearance on the Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast, pushing back against many of the criticisms that have followed the quarterback since he entered the NFL.

Ironically, even host Chris Simms has been critical of Purdy at times, recently ranking the 49ers quarterback No. 17 in his annual NFL quarterback rankings. Simms, however, insisted that he is a fan of Purdy and has a great deal of respect for his game.


Kittle has heard the criticism for years and believes much of it stems from Purdy's status as the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. According to the All-Pro tight end, many have searched for reasons to explain away Purdy's success, often pointing to the talent surrounding him in San Francisco.

"I've seen quarterbacks on a great football team not have success, so I think you can throw that one out the window," Kittle argued. "Then, he kept doing better and better, and the excuses just kept being like, 'Oh, well, now he's a checkdown merchant.' And then, you look at the stats, and he actually leads the league in down-the-field passing yards, which is pretty impressive.

"For a guy who everyone was like, 'Oh, he's too small to play quarterback. He's just back there, and he's just throwing it up to Kittle and [RB Christian] McCaffrey.' He's actually pushing the ball downfield.

"And they're like, 'Oh, he's just in a Kyle Shanahan-friendly offense, and that's the only reason he's good.' And then you watch him run the offense and the amount of broken plays that he makes, and he makes great throws, jump passes, running down the field, running for like 20, 30 yards, wins us football games."

Kittle admitted he doesn't fully understand why some analysts remain reluctant to give Purdy the credit he deserves. However, he jokingly suggested one possible reason for the lack of appreciation.


"I think people just don't want to give him the love because he walks into games looking like he shops at Kohl's, shops at Dillard's in the Midwest," Kittle said. "But that's just who he is. You don't want guys to be someone that they're not, and that's Brock Purdy. He's an awesome guy. He's becoming a really good leader."

Beyond his on-field production, Kittle believes Purdy has grown tremendously as a leader since arriving in San Francisco. While winning has certainly helped build confidence, Purdy has previously said he always believed he belonged in the NFL.

Now entering his fifth season, Purdy has become much more vocal in the huddle and on the practice field, unafraid to hold teammates accountable when something isn't executed correctly.

"He's becoming a really vocal quarterback, and just like a vocal leader of this team," Kittle added. "And it's just slowly gotten better. He's using his voice more, which is hard to do when you're a seventh-round pick, and you're a rookie coming in—what are you supposed to say?

"And now, he's the guy. He's been paid money. He's won a lot of football games ... It's his team, and we all know that, and he knows that, too. So we're all just excited to help him, make his job as easy as possible."


Kittle's comments reinforce what the 49ers have believed all along: Purdy's success isn't simply the product of his surroundings. In the eyes of his teammates, he has earned his place as the franchise quarterback.



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