Brock Purdy and Patrick Mahomes share key QB trait, says Steve Young

Brock Purdy isn’t a first-round pick like Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes, but the 49ers’ quarterback certainly plays like one.

Purdy has yet to lose an NFL game that he started or finished, and so far in 2023, he boasts the best passer rating in the league at 115.1. Why doesn’t he get the same respect as his peers?

Hall of Fame quarterback and 49ers legend Steve Young believes it’s because Purdy, the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, is going against the status quo by proving the scouts and general managers who passed over him wrong. On the field, Young believes it’s clear that Purdy has one quality like Mahomes that wouldn’t have shown up at the combine.

“They don’t know the situation like they say they do, because the situation is really about guile and an innate gift from heaven, in some ways, to be able to get the heart rate down when everyone’s in a state of anxiety and stress,” Young said in an exclusive interview with NBC’s Raj Mathai. Bay Area. “You just react differently, you respond. Then there are 22 people on the field, including you, and it’s not overwhelming.

“It’s like, ‘Oh, I get it.’ This is good. It doesn’t bother me. “This is a very rare quality that we look for in midfielders everywhere. …But in the NFL, very few are naturally at peace. That’s why when I compare him to Patrick Mahomes, I compare it to how Patrick feels “at peace. We all grew up with that. Some guys just show up. Patrick showed up at peace, and so did Brock. The draft doesn’t understand this thing.”

Young is right — Purdy’s rise has been improbable since he took over the 49ers’ starting role from the injured Jimmy Garoppolo last season. He broke countless records in 2022 during the regular season and in the playoffs thanks to unrelated Mr. milestones, his success aided by four years as a starter in college at Iowa State.

And no sophomore regression here: Purdy’s numbers in 2023 helped his name break into the NFL MVP conversation, dispelling the notion that he’s merely a beneficiary of coach Kyle Shanahan’s system. But as Young said, there are still some who can’t accept quarterback Purdy.

Or the quarterback he always was. Before we can truly compare Purdy to Mahomes, he’s going to have to hoist a Vince Lombardi trophy or two. Meanwhile, 49ers Faithful can rest assured that the young signal-caller will be calm, calm and collected against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

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