49ers QB Brock Purdy Explains How Christian McCaffrey Makes Him Better

Brock Purdy isn't necessarily a product of Christian McCaffrey, but he's so much better when McCaffrey is on the field.

Nov 10, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) hands off to running back Christian McCaffrey (23) against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

SANTA CLARA -- Brock Purdy isn't necessarily a product of Christian McCaffrey, but he's so much better when McCaffrey is on the field.

When McCaffrey plays, Purdy's passer rating is 111.9 and his win-loss record is 18-4. When McCaffrey doesn't play, Purdy's passer rating is 93.7 and his record is 4-4. Stark contrast.

On Thursday, Purdy was asked about his chemistry with McCaffrey. Here's what Purdy said courtesy of the 49ers p.r. department.

Q: Having RB Christian McCaffrey back at practice now for a second week, do you see a difference in what it does for everybody else? Does it elevate everybody else? What does that bring just to every practice day?

PURDY: “Yeah, he goes hard, every rep, he does everything right. He doesn't mess up or anything. And so, when we see the standard that he's playing at, for all of us, we're like, ‘alright man, Christian's back’ and we’ve just got to do our job really well and when we get him the ball let's make sure the blocking's right. For me, it’s how can I give him an accurate ball and transition so that he can get the most YAC as possible? It's like all those little things that you sort of start to see everybody elevate their game with. And so, it's crazy when a person comes back of his caliber what it does to our team and everybody elevating their game. So obviously extremely happy to have him back for everything that he does for us. But more than anything, we’ve just got so much respect for how he goes about his business and being such a great teammate that he is.”

Q: Going back to your chemistry with Christian McCaffrey. The throw to the right sideline that you kind of arced over. He said that it was halfway there before he looked when he looked back to catch it. Is it just your trust in him that you've already had built up from the past that you knew he was going to be there? Is that part of it?

PURDY: “For sure. Yeah. We've ran that route so many times from camp to games in the past. And obviously, like it’s just a testament to his detail. I know where he is going to be because every time he runs it at practice on air or against a defender, he gives me an indicator or there's like subtle movements because he does it constantly. And so, for me in that moment, it was just all about trust because I knew where he was supposed to be and how he runs the route. And that's the kind of guy he is. He has set those kinds of plays up for me so if it is off-schedule or anything, I know where he's supposed to be. And so, that's just the chemistry and trust that we've built and hopefully we can continue to have that going forward.”

Q: Was that last week because he obviously hasn't practiced much in the last couple months?

PURDY: “Yeah. We ran it last week at practice. But going back to watching last year and then the reps that he did have at camp early on, those were all reps that we've gotten together. So once he came back we're like, ‘alright, this play is back up’ and we're like, ‘alright sweet.’”

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