Any NFL quarterback can expect to combat plenty of outside noise, and 49ers starter Brock Purdy is no different.
But Peter King of NBC Sports can't believe how many football fans and pundits alike still have their doubts about the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.
"It’s amazing to me, after he begins his career 11-0 in games he’s played at least three quarters, that there is this universal asterisk on his competence," King wrote Monday in his weekly "Football Morning in America" column. "More ridiculous than amazing, really."
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After making San Francisco's 53-man roster last season as their third-string quarterback, Purdy took over under center in Week 13 when backup Jimmy Garoppolo broke his foot. Since then, the 23-year-old has yet to lose a game he started and finished -- and that's including both the regular season and playoffs.
That being said, there are some who believe Purdy inevitably will start to play like a seventh-round pick. But anyone who thought the young quarterback was a flash in the pan last season still is waiting for the other shoe to drop, even after surgery to repair his torn UCL in March.
Purdy and the 49ers started the 2023 NFL season right where they left off, and though there have been moments where Mr. Irrelevant finally appeared mortal, they're heading into Week 4 with an undefeated record after three straight 30-point victories.
The young signal-caller sure looks like "the real deal," as 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan recently called him. In the "I think" portion of King's column, the sportswriter expanded on his thoughts about any Purdy naysayers.
San Francisco 49ers
"I think, as I said on Mike Florio’s PFT show Friday, that it seems there’s a bunch of people who don’t buy Brock Purdy and who await his failure," King wrote. "You’ll be waiting for a while. Why can’t people accept the fact that Purdy—who has played more than three quarters in 11 NFL games, and is 11-0 in those games—should not be defined by the fact that he was the last pick in the 2022 draft? His passing line in those 11 games: .669 completion rate, 2,021 yards, 20 TDs, 3 INTs, 102.3 rating.
"I think I’m not saying Purdy’s going to be [Patrick] Mahomes. What I am saying is, where’s the evidence he’s going to fall to earth?"
The 49ers Faithful certainly hope that moment never comes.