Brock Purdy wasn’t anticipated to start at quarterback for this club.
The 49ers were designed to be a club that excels in defense, catch-and-run passing, and running the ball.
Purdy made the 49ers win all three games, but it’s hard to argue with three straight defeats.
Indeed, Purdy was “one of the reasons we were in the game” on Sunday, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. Purdy was just plain amazing. He makes the kind of big throwsβdeep outs to the sideline, linebacker buzzers, and impromptu flipsβthat no 49ers quarterback under Shanahan has ever tried, much less completed.
However, the quarterback for the Niners mixed in some terrible plays in amongst the positives. Unfortunately, the Niners need their quarterback to be flawless these days. Despite tossing five interceptions in his last three games, Purdy hasn’t been that.
Once more, the great majority of NFL clubs live like way. These days, the number of transcendent quarterbacks in the NFL who can lead a team to victory is quite small.
Patrick Mahomes is one player who might be on the list.
Let’s be a little less exclusive; Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, and possibly Lamar Jackson will be added. If we’re being polite, that is. When he gets well, Joe Burrow might be included on the list. Even in the most charitable terms, that would be five quarterbacks.
Following that is a sizable middle class that includes players similar to Purdy: Geno Smith, Kirk Cousins, Trevor Lawrence, Justin Herbert, Tua Tagovailoa, Jared Goff, and the uncommon reappearance of old-school Russell Wilson.
These quarterbacks can look amazing on any given day and are undeniably talented. Such guys have even taken home MVP awards (Matt Ryan, 2016). However, they are not going to carry a team to win every week by themselves.
Purdy isn’t that man at twenty-three. Perhaps he will eventually become one. Perhaps not. When his rookie contract expires in 2025, that’s something to be concerned about.
The Niners didn’t believe they would require a transcendent quarterback structurally. No, this Niners club was meant to be the Seattle Seahawks of 2013βbeyond talented, thanks to a cheap, efficient, and magical second-year quarterback who could manage the game.
However, at this point, that offensive talent is on par with the rest of the league, and the lackluster coordination has muffled all that talent on defense.
Thus, the games are dependent on a quarterback selected with the final choice in the draft, whose salary is lower each season than that of Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton every contest.
The Niners should have made a trade for Aaron Rodgers or Kirk Cousins this past offseason if they believed that a quarterback was their first, last, and most important player. Purdy wouldn’t have been the object of their hopes.
However, Purdy is ideal for what they believed they neededβcompetence plus.
But for now, that’s not what the 49ers need. Not with Trent Williams and Deebo Samuel out with injury. Purdy might help the 49ers win a few games in the closing stages if this formula continues to work, but San Francisco won’t be a Super Bowl candidate.
But the Niners might be world beaters once more if this defense improves and Trent Williams and Deebo Samuel return.
After all, they have a decent quarterback.
