Brock Purdy is on pace for the best statistical season of his NFL career

Known as "Mr. Irrelevant" just a few NFL Drafts ago, this hurler has now become a household name, thanks to his outstanding play at one of the most difficult positions in professional football.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has taken the league by storm since his number was called in Week 13 against the Miami Dolphins in 2022, his rookie season.

In that contest, Purdy went 25-of-37 for 210 yards passing and connected on two strikes that led to a pair of touchdowns. Every game the rest of that season, the newly promoted starter would throw at least two scores a game.

Thanks to an incredible six-game win streak with him as a starter, the 49ers went on to the postseason and fell just one game shy of making the Super Bowl. He even found the end zone on three different times in the Wild Card blowout against an in-division rival, the Seattle Seahawks.

The best of Purdy may still be on its way. Or perhaps, it has arrived this season.

What makes 2024 so special for Brock Purdy?

Purdy threw for 4,280 yards last season, his first full year as a starter. He cleared 200 or more in every game except the first loss of 2023 on the road against the Cleveland Browns (125 yards).

He threw for over 300 yards five different times that year, and another time, he was just 4 yards shy of hitting the 300 mark, as well.

In his first four games last year, Purdy averaged just under 255 yards per game. This year, he is averaging 282 yards a game.

Furthermore, Purdy completed 308 passes last season in 16 games. He is on pace to eclipse that mark with close to 340 completions at his current pace (84 in four games).

His accuracy has been consistent as he is only down a half percentage point from 2023. With just two picks thrown in the first four games, Purdy is on pace to still throw less than last year's total of 11 interceptions.

Purdy is special. He is having a remarkable year thus far without last year's leading rusher and Offensive Player of the Year, Christian McCaffrey, who could return to the field this season at some point. Likewise, rookie wide receciver Ricky Pearsall has yet to play a down for San Francisco, either.

What's different for Brock Purdy this year?

In 2024, tertiary wide receiver Jauan Jennings has become Purdy's favorite and most successful target. They have connected on 21 of the 27 targets for 364 yards and three touchdowns.

The next closest in yardage is fellow wideout Deebo Samuel with 222 yards, and the only other player to connect for a higher percentage is tight end George Kittle. He has caught the other two touchdown passes this year Purdy has thrown.

Jordan Mason, who has become McCaffrey's replacement as the starting running back for San Francisco, has kept Purdy and the offense lethal on the ground and in the air. That allows Purdy to find guys down field like wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.

Aiyuk was Purdy's favorite target a year ago as they found each other on 75 of the 105 attempts. Aiyuk had a team-high number with 1,342 receiving yards and tied a team-high tally with seven touchdown receptions.

Additionally, thanks to McCaffrey's absence, Purdy has taken a bigger role in scrambling, picking up yards with his legs and not just via his arm.

Purdy is able to find the open man and has grown into more than just a game manager. He wins games and gives San Francisco opportunities to do so (despite the Week 3 upset loss against the Los Angeles Rams in which the quarterback nevertheless played exceptionally).

The 49ers' next opponent, the Arizona Cardinals, has given up a league-worst 78.6 completion percentage to opposing quarterbacks. San Francisco will also face them again in the final game of the regular season, too.

Noteworthy, the Rams give up the fourth worst (72.5 percent) and will rematch during the Week 15 Thursday Night Football game.

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