Brock Purdy still isn’t getting much love in quarterback rankings, even after proving he can keep the 49ers offense moving when the deck isn’t stacked in his favor.
In the latest tier breakdown from NFL analyst Steven Ruiz, the San Francisco quarterback landed in the “supporting-cast dependent” group - a bucket that also includes eight other passers. Ruiz’s list put Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson alone in the “elite” tier, while Matthew Stafford, Joe Burrow, Drake Maye, Dak Prescott, and Justin Herbert were placed in the next group, labeled “franchise carriers.”
A tier below that, Ruiz listed Caleb Williams, Trevor Lawrence, C.J. Stroud, and Jordan Love in “on the doorstep.” Purdy came next, alongside Sam Darnold, Jared Goff, Kyler Murray, Jayden Daniels, Jalen Hurts, Baker Mayfield, Bo Nix, and Daniel Jones.
Ruiz defined the tier this way: “This group can produce like top-10 quarterbacks provided the conditions around them are just right,” Ruiz wrote. “Some in this group require pristine pass protection.
Others need an innovative play-caller or a stacked receiving corps. But when those needs aren’t met, they play more like bottom-10 quarterbacks.
This is the middle class of NFL passers.
“The fanbases for these quarterbacks are all thinking the same thing: Why is my guy lumped in with these scrubs?”
He also singled out the three Super Bowl quarterbacks in the group - Darnold, Hurts, and Purdy - and explained why they landed there. “This tier also includes three quarterbacks who have played in a Super Bowl, and two of them have won it,” Ruiz said.
“Sam Darnold is the defending Super Bowl champ, and he’s coming off a clean postseason run, but he also led the NFL in turnovers last season. Jalen Hurts has led mediocre passing games in three consecutive seasons despite a wealth of surrounding talent.
And Brock Purdy has battled injuries and inconsistency since breaking out in 2022 with a superstar supporting cast and Kyle Shanahan calling the plays.”
Purdy’s career has always come with a built-in debate. He’s entering his fifth NFL season as a fringe top-10 quarterback who has kept improving with his athleticism, his ability to extend plays, and the way he sees the field before the throw. His efficiency in Kyle Shanahan’s system has stayed strong, and he’s gotten better at avoiding sacks.
The knock, though, is hard to ignore: turnover-worthy plays. Purdy has 41 turnovers in 49 career games, and interception trouble remains the biggest stain on his profile. Last season, he had four multi-interception games and threw at least one pick in eight of his 11 games played.
The injury conversation is part of the case against him too. Purdy has dealt with a UCL tear, a shoulder/oblique injury that did not cost him any games, and turf toe during his NFL career. Still, 2025 was the first season in which he missed significant time, after playing 16 games in 2023 and 15 in 2024.
Even with that uneven context, Purdy showed last year that he can still drive the offense without a polished supporting cast. Injuries forced him to work with a receiver group that included Demarcus Robinson and Kendrick Bourne as starters for portions of the season.
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49ers Could Be Waiting On A Serious Jed York Decision
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York has already served the criminal side of the issue, receiving a one-day jail sentence, a fine and completing an online course, but the leagues next move remains unsettled. For San Francisco, the uncertainty now shifts to whether the NFL will add its own discipline for an owner whose off-field trouble has suddenly become part of the teams broader picture. [Read more 🡒]