Steve Young sees Patrick Mahomes-like quality in 49ers’ Brock Purdy
By Mike Luciano
The San Francisco 49ers contending for a Super Bowl isn’t outrageous, given all of the talent on their roster this season. The absurd part of this season has been Brock Purdy, who was two seconds away from being an undrafted free agent, throwing 10 touchdown passes in his first five starts.
Despite a season-ending injury to Trey Lance and the everpresent Jimmy Garoppolo likely being inactive for the remainder of the year, Purdy has been able to execute this offense with the poise of a five-year veteran. Not bad for a guy that was picked No. 262 overall and didn’t get a Senior Bowl invite.
49ers legend Steve Young has been blown away by how much Purdy has shown in such a short amount of time. Purdy has earned some very impressive praise from Young, with No. 8 comparing him to the mercurial Patrick Mahomes.
“[Purdy] has the Force, and I think people understand what that means,” Young said via KBNR. “The thing that we’re describing is indescribable in some ways. That’s the only word you can use, the Force. It’s something about [how] he is present on the field, and can handle all the inputs and all the data, and still put out his accuracy.”
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Steve Young compared 49ers QB Brock Purdy to Patrick Mahomes.
Purdy fell as much as he did for a reason. While he was a four-year starter with success at Iowa State, concerns about his limited arm strength and iffy senior season made many question his long-term potential. He’s more than made up for those flaws by being the ultimate game manager for Kyle Shanahan’s offense.
Even those who were skeptical of Purdy in college conceded the fact that he has deadly accuracy within 15 yards, moves well in the pocket, and can ad-lib when the structure of a play breaks down. With so many YAC threats on this roster, like Christian McCaffery and Deebo Samuel, that’s all San Francisco needs from their QB position.
Purdy has faced two defenses who rank in the top 10 in the league in fewest passing yards allowed (Buccaneers, Commanders) and a potential playoff team in primetime (Seahawks). Purdy hasn’t been eased into action in this stretch, but he’s been as productive as one could have ever hoped.
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Purdy will have to continue his unbeaten miracle run if he wants to drag the 49ers to the third NFC Championship game second Super Bowl of the Shanahan era. This sounds hard to pull off, but Purdy’s steady hand has allowed a deep, talented roster to work its magic and mash up the rest of the NFC.
