Eric Williams
NFC West Writer
Brock Purdy, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback with the aw-shucks smile and boy next door looks, can’t shake the perception that he was born on third base.
With elite weapons like Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk, along with one of the best playcallers in the game in San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan, even all-time quarterback busts like Ryan Leaf and JaMarcus Russell would be Pro Bowlers, right?
Wrong, according to Purdy teammate and fan Kittle. San Francisco’s big-play tight end said Purdy developed a foundation for making big plays in big games during his 48 starts at Iowa State. And even though he joined San Francisco as the last player picked in the 2022 draft, “Mr. Irrelevant” eventually rose to the starting job as a rookie and has been a high-level executor of the 49ers offense ever since.
“He’s won big games, he’s lost games,” Kittle said of Purdy’s college experience. “He’s played bad. He’s played well. He’s come back and battled through adversity. That’s a great foundation. Now, you have to go to the NFL and do it again.
“He shows up every day and he’s consistent. He does all the same things and plays at a high level. He’s his harshest critic. He’s everything you want in a football player, and he loves the game. You see him celebrate and you feel his energy. He’s fantastic.”
Purdy finished top five in the league during the regular season in passing yards (4,280 – a 49ers single-season record), passing touchdowns (31) and passer rating (113.0). He earned a Pro Bowl invitation and was in the conversation for league MVP.
During the playoffs, he has shown his resiliency by leading San Francisco to come-back victories over the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions to advance to the Super Bowl. While Purdy struggled early in those games, he was at his best when the game mattered most.
In the second half this postseason, Purdy is…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/can-49ers-qb-brock-purdy-shed-game-manager-label-with-super-bowl-win
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Publish date : 2024-02-06 20:18:46
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