Brock Purdy not doing much to impress in 49ers rookie camp

Not much should be expected from Brock Purdy, the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft and a longshot hopeful to make the 49ers’ 53-man roster this year.

It’s easy to get excited about any quarterback joining a team after the NFL Draft.

Perhaps the hope the San Francisco 49ers’ final pick of the 2022 draft, and the final one out of all 32 teams this year, Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy, could end up proving his critics and doubters wrong with a strong showing right out of the gate was a little too far-fetched.

OK, it’s early. Most rookies are going to have their initial challenges and doubts, especially during their inaugural NFL-level workouts shortly after going pro.

The Niners started their rookie minicamp on Friday, May 13, which will be the first ramp-up in offseason workouts prior to organized team activities kicking off later this month. And while there were some notable standouts from San Francisco’s first-year class, Purdy wasn’t exactly classified among them.

Brock Purdy is facing some early hurdles in 49ers rookie camp

Things aren’t necessarily starting off well for Purdy, at least according to Sports Illustrated’s Grant Cohn, who was on hand for the practice session on Friday and didn’t exactly offer a glowing endorsement of the former Iowa State signal-caller:

"Completed a ton of 5-yard passes to running backs out of the flat and didn’t get intercepted — eat your heart out, Jimmy Garoppolo. But any time Purdy threw the ball to the sideline or down the field, the ball fluttered and died. He has one of the weakest arms I’ve ever seen on the 49ers practice field — it’s Scott-Tolzien-esque."

OK, so we all know Cohn can be critical. And some of you may hold your judgments about how Cohn conducts his business, which is fine.

But a lot of what Cohn pointed out is directly related to why Purdy suffered such a dramatic fall from his earlier years in college, which initially seemed to project him towards being at least a day-two draft pick.

Purdy doesn’t have a strong arm. And in that sense, he can be very “Garoppolo-like.”

Unlike Garoppolo, however, Purdy doesn’t have a quick release, one which would be necessary to take advantage of those short-area routes and to compensate for his lack of arm strength.

It’s something Niner Noise’s Chris Wilson pointed out in his own Purdy scouting report, too.

Yes, Brock Purdy could still make 49ers’ 53-man roster

Just because Purdy isn’t exactly wowing during his inaugural 49ers workouts doesn’t mean he’s automatically ticketed to the ranks of first-year waived players.

For starters, it’s early. So, if you’re a Purdy fan, there’s still plenty of time for him to improve and latch on.

On top of that, much of Purdy’s future hinges on Garoppolo’s future. If the Niners indeed move the veteran this offseason, that’d open up the door for the rookie to compete for one of the likely two backup spots in support of the presumed starter, Trey Lance, the other being career-backup quarterback Nate Sudfeld.

Sudfeld commands $2 million in guaranteed money this season, however, so the chances are slim Purdy knocks the former off the depth chart entirely.

No, it’d likely have to involve Garoppolo being moved. But Purdy would have to do much more than slowly release those 5-yard passes to survive roster cuts.