There will always be an interminable debate among NFL talking heads about which quarterbacks are “elite.”
It is mostly a silly debate, but let’s dive in and see where San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy ranks among NFL signal-callers.
After the 2023 season, in which Purdy ranked among the best quarterbacks when it came to many key statistics and finished fourth in MVP voting, he has followed it up with a solid 2024 campaign.
Through eight games, he has thrown for 2,101 passing yards, which is good for fourth best in the NFL. His completion percentage of 64.5 is down from last year’s mark of 69.4, but that makes sense given the Niners have been missing their offensive weapons moreso than last year.
Purdy led the league in QBR last season at 72.8, but this season his number has dropped to 62.4, which is good for ninth best in the NFL.
His interceptions are up from last year as well. He has thrown 10 touchdown passes compared to seven interceptions. In 2023, through eight games he had 12 touchdown passes compared to five interceptions.
These numbers do not suggest a regression from Purdy. Rather they suggest the natural result of missing key weapons from last year like running back Christian McCaffrey and now wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Purdy has still played well for the most part with his only two bad… really bad games coming against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5 and the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7.
Purdy also seems poised to improve in the second half of the season. The Niners could get McCaffrey back in the second half, and the quarterback now has a new toy in rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall.
The final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft has also displayed his scrambling skills in 2024 much more than he did in 2023. Last season, he had 144 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in 16 games, whereas through eight games this season, Purdy already has 210 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. His legs have become a key part of his game.
As of right now, Purdy is clearly a top-10 quarterback in the NFL. You could make a solid case for him being ranked anywhere from sixth to 10th in the NFL, but that misses the larger point. Purdy has proven this year that he can be a solid quarterback even without all of his top weapons.
This should confirm what we already felt: Purdy truly is the franchise quarterback for San Francisco.
