PFF Just Put Brock Purdy Right Back In The 49ers Debate

Despite limited play due to injury, 49ers' Brock Purdy earns a top-10 spot in Pro Football Focus's quarterback rankings with impressive metrics that signal potential for a standout 2026 season.

Pro Football Focus has Brock Purdy right where many 49ers fans would be comfortable seeing him: inside the top 10.

In its annual quarterback rankings for the 2026 season, PFF slotted Purdy at No. 10, a strong showing considering he played only nine games for San Francisco last season. The grade sheet behind the placement is impressive enough on its own.

“Purdy missed eight games with a turf toe injury but was highly effective when he was on the field. His 85.4 PFF grade ranked sixth among NFL quarterbacks, while his 65.8 passing grade under pressure ranked third. He has now ranked among the NFL's 10 highest-graded quarterbacks in each of the past three seasons.

“Purdy's 9.0% pressure-to-sack rate was the best in the league in 2025, reflecting an ability to process and release the ball before the pocket fully collapses, and his accuracy percentage of 78.7% was among the highest marks among qualifiers.”

That’s a pretty notable spot for a quarterback whose season was limited to nine appearances, and two of those games were rough ones. Even so, Purdy was solid or better in seven of them and flashed the version of himself from 2023, when he climbed into MVP conversation.

The quarterbacks he’s placed ahead of also make sense. PFF has Purdy above Trevor Lawrence, Jalen Hurts, Sam Darnold and Caleb Williams, and there’s a reasonable case for that order.

It’s a fair ranking and a respectable one. Purdy also landed at No. 85 on the NFL top 100 list, so this kind of placement fits the broader view of where he stands right now. And if the ranking had been based only on what happened in 2025, it could have looked a lot different.

He’ll have a shot to move up this season, and health is the first key. If he had reached at least 14 games last year, he probably would have climbed a spot or two, though that would have still left him chasing Dak Prescott at No. 8 and Drake Maye at No. 9.

For PFF, the top 10 looks sound. A few names could shuffle around, but Purdy’s place in it is hard to argue with.

Now the next step is on him. He has a true No. 1 receiver again, the first time since Brandon Aiyuk in early 2024. That leaves Purdy with no shortage of opportunity in 2026 - and no excuses, either.

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