Brock Purdy, the guy who was “Mr. Irrelevant” just four years ago, is playing like an absolute MVP frontrunner right now. Entering Week 6, he only needs to throw five more passes to qualify for the highest career passer rating in NFL history at a staggering 105.4. This 26-year-old Arizona native is orchestrating his best season yet, leading the NFL with 13 touchdown passes and sitting second in passer rating at 119.3. His 49ers are 5-0, and the hype is real.
Brian Griese Called It Way Back When
Not many people saw this coming, but Brian Griese, who was the 49ers’ quarterbacks coach for three seasons, absolutely championed Purdy from the jump. Griese was heavily involved in the 2022 draft evaluation, getting to know Purdy through Zoom calls and tape. He quickly formulated this belief that his future pupil had exactly what it takes to become a productive NFL quarterback. “You knew exactly who Brock was,” Griese told me. “I was able to have a couple of Zoom conversations with him, where you really get to know the person. Brock passed all those tests in my eyes. On top of all that, he really had the values and the qualities to play the position of quarterback at the NFL level, just from a make-up standpoint.” Griese has since moved on to become a full-time student at Stanford, but his assessment of Purdy was dead on.
Still Just Scratching the Surface? You Gotta Be Kidding Me.
Even with Purdy already quarterbacking the 49ers to the Super Bowl and putting up MVP numbers this season, Griese genuinely believes the kid is just scratching the surface of his immense talent. He thinks Purdy can play even better! “When he first started playing, he didn’t know what he didn’t know,” Griese explained. “And he was playing off instinct. Now, he’s been playing for five years, and he should be playing his best ball. You just hope for these quarterbacks that it clicks for them mentally. That they grow into the leadership role, and they do that in a time frame where they still have their body, and they can still play at a high level. And this is kind of the sweet spot where Brock is, because all those things are converging.” Griese pointed out that Purdy’s frame, 6-foot-1, 220 pounds, was a big reason he wasn’t drafted higher, failing to match the physical profiles of top guys like Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes. “People were overemphasizing how tall he was, honestly,” Griese said. “And that was not a big factor for us because of the way he played. There’s an overemphasis on the stat sheet , how tall, how much you weigh and how fast you run. At a lot of other positions, those things are really important. But for a quarterback, those things are not more important than the things we evaluate, which is how well do you actually throw the ball? Are you accurate when you throw the ball? Do you make good decisions? Can you process information?” Clearly, Griese knew what was up.
So, here we are, watching Purdy dominate the league. With the 49ers sitting pretty at 5-0 and Purdy leading the charge, everyone’s got their eyes on him. Can he keep up this insane pace? Can he really hit that historical passer rating mark? If Griese is right, we haven’t even seen his full potential yet. This season is shaping up to be legendary for the guy everyone overlooked.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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