Brock Purdy lands surprisingly high in NFL analyst's latest QB rankings

CBS Sports put together a pre-2024 ranking of all quarterbacks, and where Brock Purdy ended up might surprise you.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy's doubters will certainly disagree.

But, even Purdy's staunchest supporters may feel that Purdy isn't quite a top-two quarterback in the NFL heading into the 2024 season.

Of course, most Niners fans don't mind seeing Purdy's name toward the very top of all quarterbacks right now. After all, he set numerous records over the course of his first full year as a starter in 2023, leading San Francisco to the Super Bowl, and the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft also led the league in a majority of significant passing categories, too.

Why he didn't receive an MVP award is anyone's guess.

Regardless, Purdy has already established himself as one of the NFL's best young quarterbacks. That's not debatable.

However, where does he stack up against the rest of the best of the best?

CBS Sports' Cody Benjamin's assessment of that question might surprise you.

CBS Sports power rankings: Brock Purdy ranks No. 2 among all QBs entering 2024

Benjamin put together a power-rankings list of all projected quarterbacking starters for the upcoming season, and there's no doubting the No. 1 choice, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Right behind Mahomes? Purdy at No. 2.

Here's what Benjamin had to say about the placement:

"Let's give the kid the respect he deserves. Two seasons, two NFC title games, one valiant Super Bowl effort. Does he have a sterling setup in San Francisco? Yep. Does he operate like a 10-year vet, managing the pocket as both an efficient and mobile gunslinger? Also yep."

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That means Purdy is ahead of the Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen (No. 3), the Cincinnati Bengals' Joe Burrow (No. 4), the reigning NFL MVP in the Baltimore Ravens' Lamar Jackson (No. 6) and well above the New York Jets' Aaron Rodgers (No. 11).

What makes Purdy's promise that much more exciting is the fact he will undergo his first full offseason as the 49ers' unquestioned starter without injury.

That's important.

Last offseason, even if he was going to be tabbed as QB1, Purdy was rehabilitating from surgery stemming from surgery on his throwing elbow, which resulted from the injury suffered in the 2023 NFC Championship game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles that January.

Purdy wasn't cleared until training camp. That won't be the case entering 2024.

Of course, Purdy will still have his detractors, and those voices likely won't be silenced anytime soon.

However, as long as Purdy continues to deliver on the field, those negative arguments will mean less and less.

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