After three weeks, Brock Purdy is already forcing his way into the MVP discussion, and the early buzz has picked up enough that even Dan Orlovsky and Pat McAfee are leaning in.
Orlovsky made his case on the Pat McAfee Show with no hesitation.
“No quarterback in football is playing as well as Brock,” said Orlovsky. “The offense gets to excel with the way that he is playing. He also has so many off-script plays that get overlooked so often.“
McAfee took it a step further, framing this as a potential breakthrough season for the San Francisco 49ers quarterback.
“This might be Purdy's year of winning it,” said McAfee on the MVP conversation. “All he has done is continue to dissect and beat the hell out of defenses. Brock Purdy is playing on another level right now.”
Purdy’s numbers back up the hype. Among qualified quarterbacks, he ranks second in completion rate, trailing only Geno Smith.
He is eighth in passing yards, but he sits second in yards per attempt behind Lamar Jackson. The volume has not piled up the way it might for other quarterbacks because the 49ers have been scoring touchdowns so quickly.
The most eye-catching stat is at the top of the leaderboard: Purdy leads the NFL with nine touchdown passes and has thrown only one interception, giving him the league’s best touchdown-to-interception ratio.
That said, there is another side to the MVP argument. The opponents Purdy has faced so far have left some room for skepticism.
The Los Angeles Rams are a good defense and will have strong performances this season, but their trip to Australia has been scrutinized heavily. Even Sean McVay said they were not smart.
After that, the 49ers played the Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals, two teams that rank in the bottom five in efficiency. Both teams have also struggled away from their games against San Francisco.
The Dolphins gave up 24 to the Chiefs at home and allowed Kirk Cousins and the Las Vegas Raiders to score 27. The Cardinals were helped by an injury to Ladd McConkey in Week 1 and then allowed 31 to Drew Lock and the Seattle Seahawks the next week.
So yes, Purdy has been brilliant, and the tape reflects that. But the level of competition matters too, and the first three weeks have not exactly put him through the hardest possible test. That is why Week 4, against a talented Denver Broncos unit, looks like the real measuring stick.
In Other News...
Warriors Enter Camp With A Steph Curry Concern They Can't Ignore
As the Warriors settle into training camp in Oahu, the familiar routine around Stephen Curry comes with a new layer of caution. The 17-year veteran is entering his 18th NBA camp while managing an aging right knee, and this offseason he changed up his preparation to help keep himself fresh for another long season. Golden State has Curry focused on building back toward game shape ahead of its upcoming meeting with the Clippers, a reminder that even for a player who has seen it all, the opening weeks still matter.
Kristaps Porzingis status adds another point of uncertainty for a team trying to get its footing early. He did not travel with the club to Hawaii because of an undisclosed health issue, and Steve Kerr said there is no current timeline for his return. For a Warriors group that already has enough to monitor with Currys workload, the absence leaves another important front to watch as camp moves along. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Face A Brandin Podziemski Decision With Big Roster Consequences
Brandin Podziemski is at the center of one of the Warriors more delicate offseason conversations, with a three-week window now open to work out a contract extension before the Oct. 19 deadline. The timing matters because Golden State has already committed to Stephen Curry on a two-year extension, and the front office is clearly trying to balance keeping its young guard in the fold with preserving enough flexibility for the bigger-picture roster.
Podziemski gave the Warriors plenty to think about after the All-Star break last season, when his role and production both took a noticeable step forward. He has said he wants to keep the focus on his play rather than on public commentary, but the stakes around this negotiation are obvious: the team wants him long term, just not at a number that could squeeze the rest of the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Already Have A Center Problem Steve Kerr Must Solve
The Warriors frontcourt picture got thinner when they chose not to match Quinten Posts three-year, $30 million offer sheet from Memphis, sending the center away and leaving Steve Kerr with another lineup question to answer. Post had looked like a potentially useful fit as the sort of big man who could help stabilize the rotation, especially with the team still sorting out how it wants to play up front.
Now the attention turns to the center spot in the coming games, including the preseason meeting with the L.A. Clippers, where Golden State figures to keep testing different looks. Kristaps Porzingis is also dealing with an early illness concern that could complicate the picture even more, making the next few days a useful preview of how the Warriors plan to handle a position that suddenly feels a little less settled. [Read more 🡒]