Brock Purdy to start: What do 49ers have in rookie QB, and can he get San Francisco to the Super Bowl?

Brock Purdy made an emergency relief appearance for the injured Jimmy Garoppolo and was essentially a clone of Garoppolo in the 49ers‘ win over the Dolphins. 

This was a seventh-round rookie, Mr. Irrelevant from April’s draft, who played calm, cool, and collected after being thrust onto the field for his first meaningful NFL action in the thick of a colossal showdown against a red-hot Miami team.

Hats off to Purdy for a tremendous display of confidence in such a challenging spot. And, my word, as if he hasn’t provided enough evidence to date, what a testament it was to the brilliance of Kyle Shanahan’s scheme and play calling. Oh, and can’t forget the embarrassment of riches San Francisco has on offense. While on the surface, it was costly victory for the 49ers, the 33-17 win against Mike McDaniel’s club showcased the completeness of Shanahan’s squadron. 

Check the genius of the play design here from Shanahan. Trips formation to the bottom of the screen. McCaffrey motioned, leaving a stacked look. Every time a secondary gets that pre-snap alignment, one of the corners will play off, to avoid easily getting picked. That space left plenty of room for Jauan Jennings to run behind Brandon Aiyuk for a few yards before breaking to toward the sideline. Schemed open throw for Purdy. First down, San Francisco. 

Easy pitch and catch. But what do the 49ers have in Purdy, and can he help navigate this team through the playoffs and to the Super Bowl? 

Let’s start with Purdy the prospect. Even if you didn’t catch a second of the 49ers’ Week 13 victory, but knew he was the final pick in the draft, you’d likely guess Purdy is not a freaky physical specimen, and you’d be right. He’s slightly under 6-foot-1 and 215-ish with an average-at-its-very-best arm. 

And here’s an example of his arm-strength limitations. Purdy goes next-level at the outset of this play — foreshadowing! — by looking to left to draw the safety away from the backside post to Deebo Samuel. And it was there. But notice the lack of velocity on the football, which allowed the pass breakup to be made. 

How about positives? What does Purdy do well? Here are those snippets from my pre-draft scouting report.

“Surprising athletic twitch… will elude some defenders with his change-of-direction ability… shows good pocket movement skills… anticipatory throwing skill masks some of his arm-strength…