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There is no doubt in Kyle Shanahan’s mind that 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has what it takes to succeed in the NFL.
In his words, the former seventh-round pick is “the real deal.”
Shanahan sat down with Greg Papa on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “49ers Game Plan,” where he explained why he had such high praise for Purdy during training camp after the 23-year-old served as QB1 for eight games in 2022 before suffering an injury. He tore the UCL in his elbow in the 49ers’ NFC Championship loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
“Just responding to a question in the media, I think it sounds like a big statement,” Shanahan told Papa. “‘The real deal’ means people will ask me questions about how we know all this stuff. There were six games of film about him, you just have to watch them. And it wasn’t just that he was lucky in those games, it was that he was.” He played at a very high level, and that’s what he trains for every day.
“So we had a feeling in practice, but you never know until they get into NFL games. There were a couple of bad injuries to our quarterbacks, and he got that opportunity to get into real games and all he did was do that every game against him. Competition Very good.”
Although he only played in a handful of games last season, Shanahan believes Purdy has done enough to earn the respect of the NFL.
“He did it and got us to the playoffs, he did it in the mid-game moment, he did it in the playoffs, he did it at home, he did it on the road,” Shanahan explained. “I don’t know what else people want. You have to prove yourself every week in this league, that’s what you’re doing now, not what you’ve done in the past. Brock played at a high level last year, we wanted that.” “In order to stay healthy, he did that the first week and hopefully we can keep it going.”
After undergoing surgery to repair the UCL on March 10, Purdy returned to 49ers practice exactly six months later and doesn’t appear to miss a step.
Then the second-year quarterback picked up right where he left off in the 49ers’ 30-7 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1 and started turning heads again.
Shanahan, of course, was less surprised.
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