Brock Purdy may not sit in the same conversation as Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson, but an NFL executive still sees two traits that separate him from the pack.
In a recent ESPN poll of NFL executives, scouts and coaches compiled by Jeremy Fowler, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback landed as an honorable mention just outside the league’s top 10. That alone says plenty about how he’s viewed around the NFL, even after a 2025 season that was limited by injury.
The sharper detail came from an NFC executive who pointed to two areas where Purdy is elite.
"He has got two superpowers," the NFC executive said. "Layering the ball and shot-area quickness to stay alive. He's elite in those two areas."
Those skills matter for any quarterback, but especially for one operating in a Kyle Shanahan offense. Purdy’s touch and feel as a passer let him fit throws into windows that other quarterbacks might not even attempt. He can drop the ball over a defender or thread it between multiple defenders, and that kind of layering gives him more answers as a playmaker.
The other part of the equation is his ability to keep plays from dying. The executive’s reference to “shot-area quickness to stay alive” isn’t about straight-line speed or a big rushing threat. It’s about how Purdy handles pressure in tight spaces, turning what could have been a sack into a throwaway, a scramble for a short gain or even a completion.
That ability showed up in the numbers, too. Purdy was sacked 11 times this past season in nine games, a 3.73% sack rate.
For the 49ers, that combination is the appeal: a quarterback who can place the ball with precision and still find a way out of trouble when the pocket starts collapsing.
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