Brock Purdy, Patrick Mahomes share key QB trait, Steve Young says – NBC Sports Bay Area & California


Brock Purdy isn’t a first-round draft pick like Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes, but the 49ers quarterback is certainly playing like one.

Purdy has yet to lose any NFL game that he has started or finished, and so far in 2023, he boasts the league’s best passer rating at 115.1. So, why doesn’t he get the same respect as his peers?

Hall of Fame quarterback and 49ers legend Steve Young believes that’s because Purdy, the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, pushes against the status quo by proving the scouts and general managers who had him wrong . On the field, Young believes it’s clear that Purdy has a make-or-break quality just like Mahomes that didn’t appear at the combine.

“They don’t know the situation as they say, because the situation is really about deceit and is an innate gift from heaven, in some ways, to help lower your heart rate when everyone is under anxiety and pressure. To be able to,” Young said in an exclusive interview with NBC Bay Area’s Raj Mathai. “You just react differently – you react. And then there are 22 people on the field, including you, and it’s not overwhelming.

“It’s like, ‘Oh, I get it. It’s OK. I’m not overwhelmed by it.’ And that’s a very rare quality that we’re looking for in quarterbacks everywhere. … But in the NFL, very few guys are naturally at peace. And that’s why when I compare him to Patrick Mahomes, So I’m comparing that to how Patrick feels at peace. We all grew into it. Some guys just show up. Patrick looked at peace, and so does Brock. The draft doesn’t understand that stuff.”

Young is right – Purdy is unlikely to move forward after taking over the 49ers’ starting role from the injured Jimmy Garoppolo last season. He broke countless records during the regular season and in the playoffs courtesy of the Mr. Irrelevant milestone in 2022, his success aided by four years as a college starter at Iowa State.

And there’s no sophomore slump here: Purdy’s numbers in 2023 have helped catapult his name into the NFL MVP conversation, dispelling the notion that he’s merely a giver to coach Kyle Shanahan’s system. But as Young said, there are still some people who can’t accept Purdy being the quarterback.

Or, the quarterback he’s always been. However, before Purdy can truly be compared to Mahomes, he will have to hoist a Vince Lombardi Trophy or two. Meanwhile, the 49ers faithful can rest assured that the young signal-caller will remain cool, calm and collected against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

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