Despite having his worst season since becoming a starter for the 49ers, Brock Purdy is viewed as a top 10 quarterback in 2024 from one outlet.
One of the reasons the San Francisco 49ers were disappointing in 2024 was because of quarterback Brock Purdy.
He wasn’t great at all this past season. In fact, he was the reason the 49ers lost several games. He cost the 49ers more games than he did win them. Purdy was a shell of himself from 2023. Yet, one Pro Football Network believes Purdy was a top-10 quarterback in 2024.
The outlet has its own quarterback grading system (like Pro Football Focus) and they graded Purdy No. 7 overall. Here is their explanation for giving Purdy such a high grade and rank despite having his worst season since becoming the 49ers’ starter.
“For the 2024 season, Purdy finished fifth in the league in overall EPA/DB (0.17) and fourth when playing under pressure (-0.08 EPA/DB) while sitting sixth when playing from a clean pocket (0.33 EPA/DB). Despite all the injuries around him, Purdy still averaged 8.1 nYPA (third) and a 44.3% conversion rate on third downs (eighth).”
These metrics and analytics are great and all, but it isn’t enough to say he is a top-10 quarterback. Not even close. At best, Purdy was a middle-of-the-pack quarterback in 2024. He wasn’t an uplifting player and made crucial mistakes in key moments of the game.
That is why his second-half performances are coming into question. He folds when the game needs to be won. That isn’t a top quarterback. Rather, he’s a slightly above-average quarterback in 2024 and that’s probably too much credit.
Overall, if Purdy were truly a top-10 quarterback this year, the 49ers would’ve won more than six games. Instead, he underperformed, regressed, and looked like a quarterback who needed the perfect situation to thrive.