Brock Purdy Has Cardinals' Full Attention
ARIZONA -- San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is no longer one of the best kept secrets in football.
Once the final pick of the draft, Purdy now finds himself at the forefront of MVP conversations. The Arizona Cardinals know that all too well after Purdy completed 20-of-21 passes in surgical fashion to help the 49ers to a 35-16 victory back in Week 4.
The 49ers were good then, though they've really picked up steam as the postseason is around the corner. There's arguments to be made for San Francisco's spot as the best team in football with little rebuttal available.
Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said more than anything, his ability to take care of the ball has been impressive.
“He doesn’t turn it over. He is very efficient. I didn’t scout him coming out of Iowa State. I knew his coordinator, I worked with his coordinator a little bit and everything that you see show up on tape right now is what he did in college, so he just translated it," Gannon said.
"So many times, there’s so many variables that go into a guy when they get drafted in hitting their ceiling or playing above their ceiling at all positions. There’s a lot of variables that go into that. The team, the system, the scheme, who’s their strength coach, who’s their position coach, what’s the coordinator like, who’s in front of them and who’s in the room with them. There’s a lot of variables. That’s why a lot of guys hit, and a lot of guys miss. There’s no perfect science to it, but I think they’ve done a really good job and even throughout this year, having watched him throughout this year, I think he improves every game. You see him do some things that he didn’t do last year and he’s a really good player.”
Purdy is surrounded by a star-studded cast that frankly would make Madden Ultimate Team players blush. Names such as Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, and Christian McCaffrey among others.
When it comes to identifying one point of attack: good luck.
"They’re a unit. The strength of them is the unit. We talked about it today, they’re very physical, they’re violent, they play for 60 minutes, and they bring it for 60 minutes. There are no lulls in effort and hitting and I truthfully think that it’s actually kind of cool to see and watch that they’re about the team," Gannon said.
"They don’t care who gets touches, who scores, who has a big game. They just want to win and that’s pretty cool to see. That’s why they’re where they’re at right now. They’re unselfish and when they get their chances, they make plays. I don’t know if there’s one key guy. I think they’re all key guys. The strength is the unit.”
Purdy's passer rating of 116.9 currently leads the league (for starting quarterbacks) and so too does his completion percentage of 70.2% and 9.9 yards per attempt among other categories.
Purdy isn't the most physically imposing person in the world. His arm strength isn't comparable to Josh Allen. He doesn't improvise like Patrick Mahomes or run like Lamar Jackson, either.
He simply makes throws on a routine basis - and though not flashy - it gets the job done.
It's an impressive run that has caught the attention of Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.
“I’m sure he had a huge chip on his shoulder being the last pick. Obviously, me and him being in the Big 12 together I know what he’s capable of. Seeing him and playing against him, but other people may not. With him being at Iowa State, nobody’s watching Iowa State on TV for the most part," said Murray.
"They’re not a nationally televised team all the time, so you never know. I’ve known what he’s capable of so to see what he’s doing—obviously they’re a great team. Got nothing but respect for what he’s doing.”
There were some that thought Purdy was simply a flash in the pan when he first took over. It's safe to say the Cardinals aren't treating Mr. Irrelevant anything close to the nickname.
