San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy continues to prove himself on the field, yet the criticism never seems to disappear. Perhaps that's the reality of being the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Despite becoming one of the NFL's highest-paid players and leading the 49ers to sustained success, Purdy still has plenty of skeptics who question whether he's truly an elite quarterback.


One anonymous NFL general manager recently told veteran reporter Jason La Canfora that he doesn't view Purdy as a franchise quarterback.

"You know he's never been a franchise quarterback for me," the general manager said. "On pure ability, he's closer to a backup than a top-10 guy."

The criticism persists despite Purdy's production. With 147 more pass attempts, his career passer rating of 104.0 will finally qualify for the NFL's all-time leaderboard, where it would rank No. 1. Even so, critics argue that his success is more a product of head coach Kyle Shanahan's quarterback-friendly system and the talent surrounding him than Purdy's individual ability.

Purdy is aware of the outside noise, although he rarely seeks it out himself. More often than not, he hears about it from family or friends. Rather than letting the criticism affect him, the 26-year-old quarterback has developed a healthy perspective.

"There's things I do need to get better at, for sure," Purdy told Tim Kawakami this week on The TK Show podcast, "but I think there's also things that I've seen myself do, and I just want to keep replicating, and people can say what they want. But if we're winning games, got the the trust of the guys in the locker room, and more than anything, with myself, knowing that I'm doing things right, and I just got to keep doing it over and over again, it's gotten me here, then I'm going to I'm going to stick with that."




Purdy added that he's been doubted throughout his football journey, including during his time at Iowa State, where those questions ultimately contributed to him becoming the final selection in the 2022 NFL Draft. Entering his fifth NFL season, he's learned to embrace the criticism rather than dwell on it.

"People can say what they want," Purdy continued. "There's always going to be that. That's part of the sport. And honestly, that sort of makes it fun because you look back and it's like you've overcome all these, I guess, kinds of criticisms and stuff. But how do you do that? It's one day at a time, just sticking to my process and believing in it, and going out and getting it done."

While outsiders continue to question Purdy, the 49ers organization and his teammates have complete confidence in their quarterback.

In fact, Purdy was one of the reasons veteran wide receiver Mike Evans chose to leave the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and sign with the 49ers.


"He's a quarterback that's getting better each year," Evans said this week during a radio interview. "I saw him in his first start. It was against us, when I was in Tampa. And he just gets better and better.

"He's super poised, he's in the pocket, he throws a really good ball, and he just loves the game of football. And he's doing whatever it takes to win. So, hopefully I can be open a lot for him this year."

Whether the doubters are ever convinced remains to be seen. But if Purdy continues winning games and producing at a high level, he's content to let his play speak louder than the criticism.

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