Brock Purdy on being 49ers “leader in the clubhouse”

Posted By on April 1, 2023

Brock Purdy went from Mr. Irrelevant to a finalist for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year after exploding onto the scene late in the season.

With Purdy under center, the 49ers averaged over 30 points per game and didn’t until a torn UCL six plays into the NFC championship game left the quarterback unable to throw.

As a result of his impressive performance, 49ers general manager John Lynch told reporters on Monday, “if we were to line up, he (Purdy) probably would take that first snap.”

Kyle Shanahan echoed Lynch’s sentiments the following day. “The way Brock played last year; he’d be the starter going into it.”

Purdy was a guest on the Roc & Manuch Show on Fox Sports 910AM in Phoenix on Friday. After giving an update on his rehab Purdy discussed what he has been doing to get ready for his second season, where he can improve and his thoughts on Shanahan’s comments.

Q: Have you already started to get yourself ready for training camp by watching film?

Purdy: Yeah. There were a couple weeks after the season, the injury and everything had happened, where I just needed to get away from football. But over the last month or so I’ve been watching some games. Going back to the basics of the playbook, my reads and my footwork. Even formations and motions and things like that. You’ve got to start getting that ingrained in you before you go back, and that’s where I’m at.

Q: When you go back and look throughout the year. What were some of the pros you can carry forward and what were some of the cons?

Purdy: Starting with the cons, just footwork. Being on time. Every concept has its own timing and there were times last year where you could tell I was still getting used to things. Even when I was playing. The timing of a slant to Brandon Aiyuk compared to Deebo Samuel. There’s two different types of routes, so getting used to that kind of thing. That’s something I have to hammer away at in the offseason.

The pros is building off the leadership and courage that I had of stepping out and going and leading a team. You know, you have to have confidence in the NFL, and you can see it on the film. I just have to keep building off that as well.

Q: Your coach has come out and basically said it’s your job to lose. Do you feel any extra pressure because of that?

Purdy: No sir. For me, I have to get healthy first. That’s how I’m looking at it. Day by day. I have to get healthy; everything will fall into place from there. Other than that, I love my teammates, I love to compete, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to help this organization win. That’s how I’m looking at it, nothing more than that.

This article has 61 Comments

    2. Agree with Jack that it is unlikely Lance is traded. We need him to start if Purdy is not ready for several games. Lance is such a disappointment. Let us hope we can increase his trade value by him showing some talent and improvement.

    3. Sure bud. By then it’s too late. Lance and Darnold wud have lost enuff games to bounce Niners out of playoffs.

  3. It will be fun to watch him this year as he should be even better than last year.

  4. Good info.
    You have to feel like he has the mental makeup of a franchise qb. I just wish he had a bigger arm as it would give him a larger margin of error.
    I still

  5. Purdy is a natural leader. Trent is not a leader in any way and he is inaccurate on the field. He is not a Kyle S. type of QB and was a terrible pick by the Niners. Still nearly impossible to believe how he was worth more than one first-round pick if that. He never played in a meaningful, legitimate football conference. Now we need to worry about when or it Purdy can return to normal strength. Maybe in December? We dare not rush him as it could be a major setback. What a terrible tragedy for the Niners.

    1. Allie, Please tell us where your knowledge of Trent (I assume you mean Trey) comes from. Can we never celebrate the good (Brock’s ascendance is way more than good) without knocking someone else?

      Yay Brock does NOT have to be linked to Trey sucks. I’m excited to see the competition: in this offense (and with that defense) any of the three QBs could lead us to the promised land — if McKivitz holds up or someone else steps up at RT; if not we will need all 3 QBs!

    2. Allie, bad morning? How would you know Trey is not a leader? Shanahan drafted Trey so how can he not be a Shanahan QB? How is NDS not in a legitimate conference? Yes, these are smaller schools but NDS won the national championship for division 2. Also NDS has produced 2 other quarterbacks who currently are in the NFL. How many big name schools can make that claim.

      1. Felix,
        North Dakota St. is not a Div 2 football team. They participate at the Div. 1 FCS level formerly known as Div. 1AA

  6. Bob,
    Sadly I see the 3 QB scenario coming about or at least 2 very beaten up QBs. If you believe this years O line looks scary I don’t want to think what 24’s O line looks like after Williams retires.

  8. Trey’s selection was primarily motivated by cap engineering. When Shanahan or Lynch talk about Trey, you don’t hear much about what a transcendental, generational talent he is. Instead, they talk about how they needed a freshman QB with a low cap number so that they could keep the rest of the team fed.

    With these less than lofty goals, it is ironic that they spent so much draft capital on Trey, only to see the emergence of our starter from the depths of the 7th round.

    I don’t know if Trey can be all we hope for or not. But those draft picks could have done wonders for the team had they been used differently.

    1. The main reason for drafting a quarterback, stated many times by both Lynch and Shanahan, was the unavailability of Jimmy. Having a lower cap number was also a part of the calculus but definitely not the main reason. They truly believed Trey was special and he might be, if he can get some playing time and experience.

      1. Brush up on your Lynchahanspeak. Cap calculus has overtaken Jimmy’s health by at least a factor of two or three since the close of last season.

        1. What? The reason for making a decision comes before the decision, not after it. The reason doesn’t change.

  9. Jack,
    Any chance that we see a “Hammer” mock draft soon?

    I’m still of the opinion that the 49ers will use many of their comp picks in a trade to get into the mid 2nd and possibly early 3rd.
    How do you see it?

  10. AES,
    I agree I think the best thing they could do is trade 2 of their 3rd round picks and a 5th to move up to about pick 55. There they could land a starting level RT or a pretty good rush end. The reason I don’t think they will do that is they still need quite a few more players to fill out their 90 man roster. By my count they still need 26 players to get to 90. If they draft 11 they would still need 15 UDFAs which seems like quite a few but if they trade up and draft say 7 or 8 players that would mean they would need 18-19 UDFAs which is more than I have heard a team bring to camp. So I have a feeling that they may draft all 11 or even trade back for 1 or 2 more picks. It will be interesting to see which way they go. Also with their cap situation I believe that the next two seasons will see the 9ers keep quite a few draft picks and UDFAs who come pretty cheap.

    1. Coach,
      There’s the chance that the 49ers keep all 11 pick’s, my only thoughts are that Lynch has shown a pattern of making deals to get the player(s) he targets.

      With a bus load of comps, if Lynch really likes a player in the second rd, I have a sneaking suspension that he will make a deal.
      RT and Edge are areas of concern, and I believe that the 49ers have a better chance of finding one in the second as opposed to hoping one of these positions falls to them in the 3rd round.

      I’m not as concerned by having to meet the league’s rule of having a certain number of players in TC. The team can satisfy the league’s rule by signing UDFA players. The 49ers scout’s have done a very good job in finding some gems going this route.

      The need in this draft is to find a RT and Edge that can push for playing time as rookies, imho.

      1. I do agree with a lot of what you said here..my only ‘objection’, if you wanna call it that, is that they need to look for a legit Left Tackle replacement, as opposed to a RT…as OC posted earlier, if/when #71 hangs up the cleats after next season, there had better be a good replacement available…otherwise, all of the chatter about Purdy and Lance is irrelevant

        1. I’m pretty sure they will draft a tackle if they find one they like but I would guess they have a pretty good relationship with Trent and have a pretty good idea on how long he plans to play.

    2. OldCoach
      RE 9ers trade 2 of their 3Rd picks + a 5th Rd draft pick, to trade up for an OT or an EDGE:
      * CBSSports.com draft pick #80…..EDGE Zach Harrison, Ohio State
      * CBSSports.com draft pick #75…..OT Blake Freeland, BYU
      NOTE: EDGE and OT: Various draft boards have both Harrison and Freeland at different draft pick spots, but most have them being drafted in the mid 2nd to early 3Rd Rd. Using draft picks #99 + #102 and #173 would allow the 9ers to trade up for either one.
      QUESTION: Would you draft either one, or choose a different player? If so, who?

      1. Harrison yes. Freeland no. I think Harrison can contribute right away maybe even start, I think Freeland will be good but he will need a year before he can start. If they trade up I think they want a starter.

  11. Jack,
    If you feel its too early to start mocking how bout just pointing us to some college players you find interesting. Maybe you could do it by position group.

  12. When will 49er fans stop this charade of Purdy being a franchise QB. LOL what a joke.

    My boyfriend ninermd says Purdy is the best backup in the league. I think he is being too nice but I won’t argue that. He is a good backup. But Trey Lance is the starter as long as he can stay healthy.

    1. Hey Bay, That’s just an opinion. There is NO evidence of either contention you made. First Brock won 7 straight games, (That’s pretty good, right). Although he would certainly lose a foot race over, say 50 yards to Trey, his short distance speed (10 yard split measured at the combine) is about the same as CMC. He also has good pocket awareness, and although he will never have Treys arm, he leads his receivers well, and has very good field vision.
      I hold out hope you are right that Trey will develop into a superstar soon and we will have “the best backup in the league”, but for now Trey needs to step up his other qualities (like accuracy) I expect he will.

      1. -Regarding Brock’s arm, correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve seen him throw the ball 40 yards with force and hit his target in stride with accuracy. That’s all you need imo.

        -This begs the question of whether Brock will be able to continue to do that post-recovery. I’ve heard an orthopedist say (or write, I’ve forgotten which) that his arm might actually return stronger due to the muscle-strengthening exercises that are part of the recovery regimen.

        -But even if it doesn’t, the more important question is, will the accuracy return? Hopefully it will.

        -One thing we know about Lance and Darnold is that Trey has accuracy issues and Darnold doesn’t.

        1. George,
          I will stop questioning his arm strength when he starts completing passes outside the hash marks of over 13-15 yards.

          1. George,
            As to BP’s arm coming back stronger, its has been pretty common for baseball pitchers who have had TJ surgery to return with a couple of MPHs added to their fastballs. Lets hope it will be the same for BP.

            1. Purdy more than proved his value last season, and I certainly hope that he can make a very healthy full recovery. And if his arm is stronger that is even better.

              But even when Purdy was having his great 7 win run, I posted my concern about his small stature and the ability to withstand the rigors of the game.
              Unfortunately, my concerns came to fruition in the Championship game. I have no qualms about Purdy’s ability, grit and heart. I would only say, that the 49ers need to have a very capable #2 QB (and #3) on the ready.
              I’m sure that the QB discussion will iron itself out before the season starts, but until then, I don’t see it going away anytime soon.

            2. OldCoach,
              I definitely question his arm… It’s not a career ender but limits his options for success as throws like deep outs are essentially ints if his timing is off.

              As to his arm getting stronger post surgery it’s possible but from everything I’ve read unlikely. This happens a lot in baseball because that ligament is frayed long beforehand due to the number of throws which means they already were losing velocity. This isn’t normally the case in football because they don’t throw it as much.
              That said, one doctor I listened too said it’s possible because of the auxiliary muscles getting strong, but it’s unlikely due to the arm itself.

        2. I agree. I’ve seen him make long passes so I don’t see this as an issue. Purdy isn’t the one who calls the plays so most of the time he will hit his #1 or #2 read which is determined by the play call. Clearly he has enough arm strength to make at the very least all of the normal passes. Can he chuck it 70 yards? I have no idea and why would anyone care?

          2. Why does everyone think arm strength is about chucking the ball deep?
            It’s about tight window throws, out patterns, and where a qb can put the ball when throwing off platform.
            The first 2 can still be made with good timing see Peyton Manning, but if that timing is disrupted or the qb has to move, certain pattern are effectively eliminated.

    1. Greetings, Martian. I think your message bounced off the wrong satellite.

      What’s life like up there?

  14. Let’s do a 49ers Q & A. Respond below with your 49ers questions and I will get them answered.

    1. Assuming Purdy can’t start the season, who will start, Lance or Darnold, assuming they don’t bring anyone else in?

      1. To that question… Which qb would normally have an advantage going in.
        (If their skillet was equal- to make this hypothetical)
        A qb with limited reps, coming off an injury that has been in the system for 2 years? Or a qb coming in that hasn’t been in the system but has had a lot more reps and game action?

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    1. OldCoach
      I can’t speak for Jack, but I think we both expect opposing DC’s to stack the box, try using six O-Linemen and slant the safeties to the inside trying to stop the run, clog the middle and disguise different blitz packages to disrupt his timing.
      A) I believe KS and JL signed FA Center FELICIANO, because he’s more capable of moving DT out of the A gap running lanes, where Brendel is not.
      B) Assuming the above is true, the 9er offense will need to answer 2 questions.
      ONE: Do the 9ers have a RB fast enough to run outside zone and force the opposing D to defend the sideline, VS
      clogging the middle.
      TWO: is McKivitz capable of blocking at the 2nd level and giving the 9er QB 3+ seconds to complete passes to his receivers?

      For the sake of conversation and a chance to see thru your eyes, I ask you if you agree with me or not? If not, I’ll ask you the same question. If you were an NFL DC what adjustments would you make to hinder Purdy?

      1. Geep,
        I agree with you but I think what they need to do to beat that D is throw outside the numbers especially deep outside the numbers. Thats where BP has to prove he can make the most difficult pass a QB can be asked to make the deep out.

        1. OldCoach
          I agree, BP needs to prove he can succeed throwing outside the numbers. I would only add that I’d include deep (40+ yards, VS 20 yards). I think that’s what separates BP from Lance. That and lance’s accuracy. Hopefully, WR Danny Grey can / will help Lance add a deep threat that forces the D to respect him and open things up underneath for the other receivers. I would also expect KS to have some deep sideline
          plays for Lance to Ray Ray. Looking forward to seeing what Tyron Johnson can do. He was a deep threat
          that could take the top off at Ok St. but is very raw and run poor routes…..We’ll see if Leonard Hankerson,
          (new 9er WR coach), can work with him and coach him up?

    1. OldCoach says: “Do you think the 49ers will trade Lance? ”
      A) NO! If the 9ers trade lance, it will be after the 2023 season is over.

    2. If the right offer comes their way on draft night, you bet…I think they’d be foolish not to trade him, if that were to happen

      1. Anything could happen behind FO closed doors.
        But trading Lance at this time is premature imho. If the 49ers trade Lance,
        who would they trust as a 3rd QB?

        If Purdy has post surgery issues or is injured, putting the team’s trust in the hands of Darnold is a big unknown, because unlike Trey Lance, Darnold has enough games during his NFL tenure to show that he’s been very inconsistent.

        And if Darnold is also injured, is there another Purdy in this draft that can step in as a 3rd QB to catch lightning in a bottle?
        I highly doubt that.
        Unless the team has completely lost faith in Lance, I don’t see them moving him this season.

    1. AES,

      Yes. I will have a mock draft or two out before the draft. Prior to that, look for an article on draft targets for offense and another for defense.

  20. I literally spit out my morning coffee reading Mike Florio’s $38M/Yr -Kirk Cousins-to-the-49ers take this morning. That would be the NFL’s all-time BIGGEST personnel mistake, maybe of all time!

  21. Why do the Nines have so many injuries?
    Is it management, coaching, practice or just bad luck?
    look at KC’s record.

      1. Felix,
        There are teams you consistently have less injuries than the 49ers , so your answer is “just bad luck”?

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