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New England will go up against the former Mr. Irrelevant for the first time on Sunday.
Discussions about the NFL’s elite quarterbacks typically lead off with the usual suspects such as Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson or Justin Herbert. Brock Purdy, on the other hand, rarely gets mentioned in the same breath.
To a degree, that should not come as a surprise. He lacks some of the attributes those other QBs possess, and entered the league in relative anonymity as the final selection in the 2022 draft. And yet, when it comes to effectively piloting an offense, few players should be ranked higher than the San Francisco 49ers’ starter.
On Sunday, the New England Patriots will get their first taste of Purdy; he had yet to turn pro the last time they played the 49ers back in 2020. They understand that going up against the 24-year-old will be a challenge.
“He does a good job of not keying in and not going to one or two guys,” linebackers coach Dont’a Hightower told reporters on Thursday.
“It’s really easy for guys to do that early in the season, just throughout the game. But he does a good job of going through his progressions, going through his reads.”
Purdy joined the 49ers as a third-string quarterback, but was elevated to the starting position in light of both Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance going down with injuries. The Iowa State product never looked back, and has been one of the most productive passers in the league ever since.
Through three games this year, Purdy has completed 69 of 95 pass attempts (72.6%) for 842 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. One of the league’s best supporting casts both on and off the field certainly does not hurt him, but he is pushing the right buttons and, as Dont’a Hightower pointed out, knows how to spread the ball around to get the best out of his receiving corps.
“You see a lot of guys you may not see getting targets in different offenses,” the former linebacker explained. “He does a really good job going through his progressions. If you’re taking away this, he’s going to make you move here, shoot it over there. He just does a good job of having a feel for the defense and finding the open space, making guys work extra.”
Purdy’s ability to distribute the football is not the only part of his game that makes him difficult to play against, however. He also is an able ball carrier himself.
He may lack Lamar Jackson’s speed, Josh Allen’s freakish build, or Patrick Mahomes’ spatial awareness, but Purdy can put pressure on a defense when breaking contain. In 2024, he has carried the football 13 times for 64 yards resulting in a solid average of 4.9 yards per run.
“He does a good job adapting to pressure, getting the ball out versus pressure,” said defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery. “He’s an athlete, too. He brings that element. He scrambles around, and sometimes that’s not always easy.”
The Patriots defense, of course, had some problems keeping quarterbacks from extending plays the last two weeks. Against Purdy and the 49ers offense as a whole that is not something they can allow to happen.
The young quarterback, after all, has shown he can exploit a defense’s weakness.
