The 49ers’ new starting quarterback Brock Purdy has received plenty of compliments since rising to the challenge of stepping in for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo.
But those words hit differently when they’re coming from one of the NFL’s best players, who also happens to be your teammate.
All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams recently gushed about the rookie signal-caller during an appearance on “The TK Show,” telling The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami that Purdy has exceeded expectations within the 49ers organization.
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“Then you get Brock Purdy, which has been a kind of, I don’t want to say elephant in the room, but he’s been a pleasant surprise to everybody in the building when you think about getting the last pick of the draft, a quarterback who is somewhat undersized,” Williams said.
“From the minute he stepped in, I looked at him like, man, you can see the confidence spewing out of him. And it’s not arrogance, it’s just confidence from the first day he walked in.”
Williams echoed the sentiments of his teammates by explaining how Purdy took his role as scout-team QB very seriously before being thrust into a starting role. The self-assurance he showed against the Miami Dolphins in Week 13 was a direct result of how he acts during practice, Williams explained.
“I’ve seen him get after some scout team wide receivers; I’ve seen him get after some active wide receivers if they’re not running and doing what they’re supposed to do,” Williams said. “It’s just in him. It comes out before he even realizes, ‘Oh s--t, I might be yelling at Deebo.’
San Francisco 49ers
“For him, it’s just that competitive spirit … Part of you wants to be like, ‘Man, just relax, man. It’s just the scout-team reps.’ But then again, you understand how he got to this point.”
As the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, and with former third-string QB Nate Sudfeld in 49ers camp on a guaranteed $2 million deal, there was uncertainty as to whether or not Purdy would end up on San Francisco’s 53-man roster at all this season.
But Purdy’s impressive training camp and preseason led to the 49ers keeping him, along with Garoppolo and second-year pro Trey Lance, and cutting Sudfeld instead.
In Williams’ eyes, that move spoke volumes about the team’s feelings regarding Purdy.
“For us to have paid Sudfeld a pretty penny to be the backup, and for a guy to come in and impress the coaching staff as much as he did to unseat a guy who we basically paid to be in that position, I think it speaks to what everybody’s seen,” Williams said. “... If everybody would have seen what we’ve seen, then they would understand.
“Now, everybody gets to see it. It’s crazy how this game works and how the world works.”
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The 49ers Faithful and the rest of the NFL world got to see Purdy in the first significant action of his young career against the Dolphins.
Now, he’s set to make his first NFL start against none other than Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.
But based on Williams’ praise of Purdy, the 22-year-old is more than ready for the challenge.