Last season, when Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo both suffered season-ending injuries, the San Francisco 49ers looked to be in serious trouble, as they were left without an experienced quarterback.
In came rookie Brock Purdy, the last player taken in the 2022 NFL Draft, and starting with Week 13 when Garoppolo got hurt, he did an admirable job under center.
He continued a winning streak the team already had, and he arguably had their offense functioning at an even higher level.
Purdy is now recovering from a torn UCL in his throwing elbow that he suffered early in the NFC Championship Game, but he’s expected to return sometime early next season.
Brian Griese, a former NFL signal-caller who is the 49ers’ quarterbacks coach, talked about what he wants Purdy to work on in 2023, via 49ers on NBCS.
49ers QB coach Brian Griese shares what Brock Purdy needs to do to continue to develop this season pic.twitter.com/8CC7Qtd3Wu
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) June 1, 2023
“I think that when you’re thrown into the fire, there’s a lot that you learn on the fly, and there’s a lot of things that we all saw that he does really well — his composure, his accuracy, his escapability. I’d love to see him continue to grow in every aspect of playing quarterback and that’s timing, it’s rhythm, it’s accuracy, it’s reading defenses, it’s playing from the pocket, limiting turnovers, giving our team the best chance to win,” Griese said.
Purdy surprised and even shocked people with how game-ready he was in that Week 13 contest versus the Miami Dolphins in which he was forced to fill in for Garoppolo, and his numbers from that point on were either elite or very close to elite.
When a rookie quarterback does that well, improving sometimes comes down to something as simple as simply playing more and getting more reps in order to learn how to fine-tune certain things in response to experiencing more real-life situations.
The Niners are considered by many to be the second-best team in the NFC behind the reigning conference champion Philadelphia Eagles, who they lost to in the NFC title game during the winter.
If Purdy builds on what he did late last season, San Francisco could easily end next season with their sixth Super Bowl championship, as they’re chock-full of talent at just about every other position.
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