Brock Purdy
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Brock Purdy reacts after a 49ers touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship Game on January 28, 2024.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has been widely celebrated for transforming himself from the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft into the 49ers franchise quarterback.
But, because of the outsized amount of attention he receives, he’s also dealt with a heavy amount of scrutiny and criticism.
Perhaps the most prominent example of this is the debate over whether Purdy is a “system quarterback” or not.
Purdy has had a lot of success in his first three seasons in the NFL, leading the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game twice and the Super Bowl once already. But, debates continue over whether that success is credit to Purdy himself or his situation. Head Coach Kyle Shanahan has one of the best offensive systems in the NFL with the 49ers, so many people chalk the success up to Shannahan’s system and not Purdy’s own play.
But one NFL analyst has a big, bold take on Brock Purdy’s relationship with the 49ers. Instead of seeing Brock Purdy as a quarterback propped up by the system like most people do, popular NFL analyst Brett Kollman thinks Brock Purdy is the one keeping the 49ers afloat.
Brett Kollmann on Brock Purdy:
“The narrative that Brock Purdy is propped up by the Niners, rather than the Niners are being propped up by Brock Purdy is ridiculous. This team, I am not even kidding, would be one of the five worst in the NFL if they did not have Brock Purdy and… pic.twitter.com/IHLzcsrVHu
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) July 9, 2025
“The narrative that Brock Purdy is propped up by the Niners, rather than the Niners are being propped up by Brock Purdy is ridiculous,” Kollman said (h/t @Coach_Yac). “This team, I am not even kidding, would be one of the five worst in the NFL if they did not have Brock Purdy and it’s not even close. They are objectively bad. At least they were objectively bad in so many ways and the only reason they were sorta kinda mid (in 2024) was because of the existence of Brock Purdy. He is not a system quarterback, he is the system.”
Wow. That’s a quote that’s sure to spark a lot of debate online.
Has Purdy Really Been that Good?
Many people saw 2024 as an indictment of Purdy rather than proof that he is a great quarterback.
The 49ers went 6-11 in 2024 and missed the playoffs (6-9 with Purdy in the lineup). They dealt with a crazy slew of injuries, but critics of Purdy felt that if he was truly great, he should have carried the team to success anyway.
Purdy’s numbers were down across the board. But how little they regressed despite missing RB Christian McCaffrey, LT Trent Williams, WR Brandon Aiyuk, WR Ricky Pearsall, and RB Elijah Mitchell all for huge chunks of the 2024 season. WR Deebo Samuel also went through a notable regression. Purdy’s only reliable, healthy offensive help was TE George Kittle and WR Jauan Jennings.
And still, Purdy posted a 67.9 total QBR. That was seventh best in the NFL, and better than proven superstars like Patrick Mahomes II (8th), Jalen Hurts (10th), and NFC Pro Bowlers Baker Mayfield (13th) and Sam Darnold (14th).
If NFL fans want to see a great example of a quarterback that clearly regressed alongside his team, they have to look no further than Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys.
The Cowboys won the NFC East in 2023 with a 12-5 record. They were 7-10 in 2024 and missed the playoffs.
Why? One could point to the Prescott injury that limited him to only 8 games in 2024.
Except, the Cowboys were better without him. They were 3-5 with Prescott as the starter and 4-5 without him. In his 8 games, he threw 8 interceptions, nearly matching his full season total of 9 in 2023. That landed him 29th on the total QBR list, just above his old backup Cooper Rush. Yikes.
What Was Behind the 49ers Struggles Then?
There’s no sugarcoating it: the 49ers’ struggles were due to the fact that they had a below-average defense in 2024.
While the 49ers were 4th in total offensive yards per game and 4th in passing yards per game, they were 28th in points allowed. They particularly struggled to make the big play, ranking 23rd in sacks and 20th in interceptions.
That’s why, instead of moving on from Purdy, the 49ers moved on from defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen. Then they brought back Robert Saleh and used all of their top 2025 NFL Draft picks on defensive players.
So, Brett Kollman may have a point.
And at the very least, Purdy was not the problem in 2024.