On the second anniversary of Brock Purdy being selected with the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, 49ers legend Steve Young believes the young quarterback will continue to improve as he enters his third season.
Speaking on KNBR’s "Murph and Markus" show Tuesday, Young explained why Purdy has been so good after two NFL seasons but also pointed out that he will need to make some slight improvements to his playing style.
“Nothing surprises him so after a while we all realized that nothing should surprise us either,” Young said. “And then he goes to the Super Bowl and plays solid ball, like you keep waiting for the youth or the irrelevant or something, and it just doesn’t show up.”
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“Now he’s got the challenge of trying to figure out how to extend his game. He was last in the draft for a reason, it was the measurables, all the things that you could see. And so those are the things, he’s not going to be able to throw it all over the field, he’s not going to be able to run like crazy but he’s got to be able to extend his game so that he can threaten in more places.
“Because in this league today you have to at quarterback be able to create your own narratives…in the championship games it’s really about you going and making it happen.”
Young then was asked if we have seen the best version of Purdy or if he can improve during a surgery-free offseason for the first time since he took over as the starting quarterback. The Hall of Fame QB explained that he does not think Purdy will get much better, and that is a good thing.
San Francisco 49ers
“What you’ve seen him do, I don’t know if you can get significantly better,” Young explained. “Once you’re a great processor, and the pressure doesn’t get to you and the coach is innovative and thoughtful, and you’ve got the support.
“I guess there’s other places to go but I think the consistency of who he is, is the upside. He’s going to be consistently excellent and that’s going to be the difference. You might say ok what can he get better at? There’s some small things that you can kind of pick at but if we can have more of what we saw last year from Brock Purdy, we’re going to be just fine.”
Purdy has been a revelation since he took over the starting job halfway through his rookie year, leading the 49ers to two NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl appearance. Last season, Purdy was an MVP finalist and led San Francisco to two epic come-from-behind postseason victories.
The young quarterback will have an entire offseason to work on his skills, a first for him since he spent much of last offseason recovering from elbow surgery to repair a torn UCL sustained in the 2023 NFC Championship Game.
With a heartbreaking overtime loss in Super Bowl LVIII still hanging over the organization, Purdy will look to lead the 49ers in their quest for a sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy this upcoming season.
Given the contract situations of Purdy along with elite receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, the 2024 season might be the last chance for this core group to win that elusive title.
If Purdy can continue his consistency as Young believes he can, San Francisco will remain one of the top title contenders in the NFC.