Will Brock Purdy be the 49ers' MVP in 2024?

If the 49ers dial back McCaffrey's touches as they should and balance out their offense by calling more passes, Purdy absolutely could be the team's MVP next season. In fact, he could be the MVP of the entire NFL.
Feb 7, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) speaks during a press conference before Super Bowl LVIII at Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 7, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) speaks during a press conference before Super Bowl LVIII at Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
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For the past two seasons, the 49ers MVP unquestionably has been Christian McCaffrey. But Brock Purdy hasn't been far behind.

In 2023, McCaffrey finished third in the NFL's MVP voting and Purdy finished fourth. Which makes sense considering McCaffrey led the entire NFL in touches while Purdy and the 49ers passing game ranked dead last in pass attempts per game. But 2024 could be different.

McCaffrey just turned 28 and has a whopping 798 touches the past two seasons -- the 49ers need to be cautious with him this year. Meanwhile, Purdy is only 24 years old and will be eligible next year for a contract extension that will make him one of the highest-paid players in the league.

Purdy has earned the right to throw more passes -- he led the entire NFL in passer rating last season. And he has the best receiving corps in the league according to Pro Football Focus.

If the 49ers dial back McCaffrey's touches as they should and balance out their offense by calling more passes, Purdy absolutely could be the team's MVP next season. In fact, he could be the MVP of the entire NFL.

No quarterback has better numbers than Purdy since he became a starting quarterback. If he shows he can be just as efficient while throwing more passes, he'll get more respect. Won't be seen as a complementary piece in his own offense anymore.

The 49ers need to know exactly what Purdy can be when they rely on him to carry the offense before they extend his contract. This season is the perfect time to find out.


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Grant Cohn

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.