San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has no shortage of detractors who question his abilities. One such detractor is former NFL quarterback and current analyst Chris Simms, but he was surprisingly positive about Purdy recently.
In an interview with Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, Simms sounded bullish on Purdy and said he believes the freshly paid franchise quarterback will rebound in the 2025 season. Simms was particularly impressed with Purdy's ability to scramble and make off-schedule plays last season.
Prior to last season, Purdy was mainly thought of as a system quarterback who could only make short throws within the pocket to his playmakers who did all of the work.
That narrative was refuted last season as Purdy was forced to use his legs more thanks to a less-than-stellar offensive line that was banged up throughout the season and due to the fact that a number of his playmakers were injured as well.
Purdy himself has laughed off the "system QB" label, but it seems that analysts like Simms who used to levy that critique against him now realize that was a lazy take. Stats and analytics also refute that narrative as does the eye test.
However, let's just remember for a second that Simms once bloviated about how Kenny Pickett was a better quarterback than Purdy and how basically any quarterback could have had success in San Francisco's offense with all of the weapons the team had available back in the 2023 season.
Simms may be trying to get back in the good graces of 49ers fans with his latest Purdy take. It comes on the heels of him taking aim at the Seattle Seahawks for not doing enough to improve their wide receiver room in the offseason.
There are scores upon scores of "analysts" who offer up hot takes on the regular. Simms is just one of this ilk, so his takes should not be taken too seriously, but at least he was willing to admit that there was more to Purdy than he originally thought.
Purdy is always going to have his detractors and critics. Not until he wins a Super Bowl will he fully be able to silence all of the haters. Simms may have come around, but many others will always associate him with the "system QB" and "check down" labels until he reaches the mountaintop.
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