Brock Purdy’s latest quarterback ranking looks merely respectable — until NFL evaluators explain what makes him special.
Critics have long dismissed him as a system quarterback. The numbers turn that accusation on its head: Kyle Shanahan’s offense is elite, and no quarterback has run it better than Purdy.
In Mike Sando’s 2026 QB Tiers for The Athletic, Purdy tied Caleb Williams for 11th, climbing three spots from last year. Of the 50 coaches and executives surveyed, 34 placed him in Tier 2, 15 voted him into Tier 3 and one considered him a Tier 1 quarterback. His 2.28 voting average was the best of his career.
That improvement followed an injury-disrupted 2025 season in which toe and shoulder issues limited Purdy to nine games. He threw for 2,167 yards, 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, falling well short of the 4,280 yards and 31 scores he produced in 2023.
Evaluators nevertheless saw beyond the uneven season. Their descriptions repeatedly returned to the same theme: Purdy does almost everything better than the eye test initially suggests.
“Stronger than you think. Faster than you think. Better than you think,” one defensive coach said.
Purdy’s first deceptive trait is his anticipation that he uses to carve up defenses. He does not possess the overwhelming arm strength that allows some quarterbacks to wait until a receiver breaks open. Instead, he identifies leverage and releases the ball before the window fully develops.
“He can see it so fast, and he makes quick decisions,” one head coach said. “He’s more athletic than you think. Really good player.”
That processing has translated into elite efficiency. Among quarterbacks with at least 500 regular-season attempts since Purdy entered the league in 2022, he ranks first in EPA per play at 0.179, first in success rate at 52%, first in yards per attempt at 8.64 and first in touchdown rate at 6.21%.
Since Purdy became San Francisco’s full-time starter in 2023, the 49ers rank third in offensive EPA per play.
The second surprise is how aggressively he attacks downfield, especially compared with other quarterbacks playing for Shanahan. Purdy is frequently described as a point guard distributing the ball to the 49ers’ playmakers, but his average target travels about 8 yards — ranking 18th among 50 qualifying quarterbacks. His passes have produced gains of at least 20 yards on 13.4% of his attempts — the highest explosive pass rate in the NFL over that span by a shockingly wide margin.
Purdy has completed 55.5% of his throws traveling at least 15 yards, compared with 36.2% for Jimmy Garoppolo in the same offense. He has also averaged 9.8 yards per play-action attempt while completing 72.1% of those passes.
Those numbers help distinguish operating Shanahan’s system from maximizing it.
Garoppolo helped the 49ers reach a Super Bowl and proved the scheme can elevate quarterbacks. Purdy has generated more explosive plays because he attacks beyond the designed first answer and possesses the mobility to create and extend plays when it disappears.
“The scramble game is awesome,” an offensive coordinator said. “He’s really hard to sack.”
Purdy has averaged 7 yards across 85 career scrambles, with more than a quarter gaining at least 10 yards. He has also completed 55.7% of his passes under pressure while averaging 6.9 yards per attempt.
His limitations remain real. One defensive coach noted that Purdy generates much of his throwing power through his lower body, making his mechanics especially important. Pressure can accelerate his footwork, while his aggression occasionally creates turnovers.
Still, Purdy’s anticipation helps compensate for an average arm, and his mobility gives Shanahan answers previous 49ers quarterbacks lacked. He has completed 64.3% of his third-down passes and converted 42.2% of his attempts into first downs.
The system-versus-quarterback debate ultimately presents a false choice. Shanahan creates defined reads and favorable matchups. Purdy succeeds because he recognizes those openings quickly — and can create when the design does not produce one.
“There’s things I do need to get better at, for sure, but I think there’s also things that I’ve seen myself do, and I just want to keep replicating,” Purdy told Tim Kawakami.
Purdy said winning, retaining the trust of his teammates and knowing he is executing correctly matter more than outside criticism.
“People can say what they want,” Purdy said. “There’s always going to be that. That’s part of the sport. And honestly, that sort of makes it fun.”
Purdy may not resemble the prototype, but his mild-mannered image conceals the anticipation, aggression and athleticism that have made him the best quarterback Shanahan has had as a head coach.
Apparently, it hides one more surprise: According to once coach featured in the ranking, Purdy talks “more s–t than you think.” Even his trash talk comes disguised.
