Being the last player selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, there were not a lot of those in the league who thought Brock Purdy would be anything more than a body. And perhaps that’s what the San Francisco 49ers thought as well, as they drafted the Iowa State quarterback with Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo already on their roster.
Despite that level of thinking, injuries have paved the way for Purdy, who has earned the right to be the team’s starting quarterback. At every twist and turn, he’s proven he can be a signal caller in this league, but many attribute that to Kyle Shanahan’s offense being a cheat code for quarterbacks. And while that is true, Purdy has notably improved and through five games, looks like one of the better players at his position in the league.
In San Francisco’s 42-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, Purdy completed 17-of-24 passes (71 percent) for 254 yards with four passing touchdowns.
And yet, there are still some who don’t see it with Purdy.
As Peter King mentioned in his Football Morning in America column on Monday, The Ringer ranked Purdy below Mac Jones, Daniel Jones and Derek Carr, three days after the 49ers quarterback went 20-for-21 in beating Arizona. With skeptics like those 49ers, fullback Kyle Juszczyk believes Purdy deserves a little more respect, especially with how he’s played through five games thus far.
“He’s just so consistent and he just continues to go out there and prove people wrong,” Juszczyk said. “I’m happy that he’s able to go out here and have a four-touchdown game on national television because not that it matters what people on the outside are saying about him, but he deserves more respect than what he gets, I think. I hope he gets a little bit of that from this.”
It remains to be seen if Purdy gets his flowers from those who doubt him, but it certainly seems like he’s cemented himself as an MVP candidate, whether those outside the building believe in him or not.
