49ers QB Brock Purdy Pays Homage to Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes

Does Purdy think he's better than Mahomes or does Purdy see him as most people do -- a cut above the rest of the quarterbacks in the league? I asked him recently.

Grant Cohn | Oct 18, 2024

Feb 5, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) stand on stage together during Super Bowl LVIII Opening Night at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

SANTA CLARA -- Everyone knows Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the NFL. This is common knowledge.

But some statistics indicate that Brock Purdy has been better than Mahomes this season. For example, Purdy is the highest-graded quarterback in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus.

Does Purdy think he's better than Mahomes or does Purdy see him as most people do -- a cut above the rest of the quarterbacks in the league? I asked him recently.

"I know you’re focused on the Chiefs defense, but when you look at Mahomes, do you look at him as an all-time great, someone you're trying to reach?" I asked. "Or do you look at him as a peer and equal?"

“I think he is who he is, I am who I am," Purdy said. "All the quarterbacks in the NFL, I guess, would say the same thing. And obviously, for what he's done and the Super Bowls that he's won and just what he's done in in the NFL with his plays and his style of play, it's really fun to watch. But do I compare myself to him or anything like that? No, I don't compare myself to any other quarterbacks in the NFL. I am who I am and I'm trying to win for the 49ers and play my style of ball. But obviously, I tip my cap to him and he's done a tremendous job. He's definitely on the way up to being one of the greats in the NFL as a quarterback, and that's no secret. Whenever you get a chance to go up against a guy like that on the other sideline, it's always fun.”

It sounds lke Purdy thinks he's just as talented as Mahomes. As a competitor, Purdy is supposed to feel that way and believe in himself, so I applaud his confidence. He also acknowledged that Mahomes is "on the way to being one of the great in the NFL" because of his three Super Bowl rings, so I applaud Purdy paying homage to Mahomes.

Hopefully, we'll get to see these two face each other for years to come.

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Published Oct 18, 2024

GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.