Ever since San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy burst onto the scene and exhibited skills of an elite signal-caller, his critics have used numerous methods to explain away his success.
The most popular tactic has been labeling him a "game manager," claiming that his success can be attributed to his surrounding talent rather than to his own efforts. In essence, the argument is that Purdy isn't very good, but the players around him make him look good.
While he indeed had a strong supporting cast in his early days, he blew that argument to smithereens last season. Jauan Jennings was his top wide receiver, and key guys were banged up on offense, yet he still had a solid season, completing 69.4 percent of his passes for 2,167 yards and 20 touchdowns. In the gunslinger's nine starts, the team went 7-2.
Now, he is proving that year was not a fluke in training camp, as he’s looked quite strong, even without many of his top targets. Of course, one can only take so much from August practices, but these will be some of the most important reps Purdy gets ahead of the regular season.
Brock Purdy's skill set has been on full display during 49ers' training camp
If tradition holds, Purdy may play one or two series in preseason games, so the work he does in training camp and practice ahead of the season will really be his most rigorous preparation.
The Iowa State product is getting ready for the season without Mike Evans, George Kittle, Christian Kirk, and others who figure to play a pretty sizable role in the team’s offense this season. Not to mention the fact that Ricky Pearsall is already done for the year after having to undergo PCL surgery. Training camp could actually be the best preparation of all if the Niners wind up losing more of their receiving crew during the regular season, which wouldn’t come as a shock to anyone.
Obviously, such a scenario would be the true test and would really drive a stake into the argument that Purdy can’t succeed without being surrounded by All-Pro players. If he has a good year throwing to the likes of Jake Tonges, Malik Turner, and Jordan Watkins, the "game manager" argument will be all but toast.
It wouldn’t be the best-case scenario for the team, especially given their recent injury woes, but Purdy’s play in camp suggests he’s able to perform no matter who he’s throwing to, which is an extremely positive sign.
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