Brock Purdy is trying to make a name for himself after being “Mr. Irrelevant” last season.
But comparisons come with the territory. And after picking up right where he left off in the 49ers’ season-opening blowout win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Purdy has been compared to a quarterback all too familiar in San Francisco.
“We know the 49ers’ [defense] good and that they run-physical. We don’t really know how Purdy is going to show up,” NFL Network host Kyle Brandt said “Good morning football” on Monday morning. “He looks like a young Russell Wilson. Like the first couple years in the league Russell Wilson.
“Just a gamer. Mobile. He’s got a juke there and he throws it around his body. He looks really good.”
Comparisons are always strange. And Purdy’s small sample size (compared to Wilson’s 12-year career) makes it difficult to fully dissect.
But from what the football world has seen so far from the second-year pro there is nothing surprising. After season-ending injuries to former 49ers quarterbacks Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo last season, Purdy stepped in and led the team to an eight-game winning streak until a UCL injury wiped out San’s Super Bowl aspirations. Francisco.
In his first game back since surgery to repair his throwing elbow, he was just as strong and successful. The 23-year-old threw for 220 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions on 19-of-29 passing in the 49ers’ 30-7 Week 1 win over the Steelers.
Of course, Wilson and Purdy had very different NFL journeys. The Seahawks selected Wilson in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft, and he started all 16 games with Seattle as a rookie. Ten years ago, Purdy was the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and was the third-string QB behind Lance and Garoppolo before emerging as the starter.
In the field, however, it’s hard to ignore some of the similarities between the two signal callers.
Purdy’s timing, anticipation and accuracy are very similar to Wilson’s in his early playing years. Both quarterbacks are very good at sensing the rush coming and finding ways to escape it. While Purdy isn’t as fast as Wilson, the second-year pro has subtle athleticism that shows in flashes on the field.
Both of them are also almost fearless, even in the most stressful situations, something that is extremely important for an NFL quarterback.
Sure, Purdy doesn’t have the strongest arm in the world and he certainly doesn’t possess Wilson’s deep ball, but it’s enough to get the job done. And it’s working great so far.
This helps when you have weapons like Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and others.
Wilson, now with the Denver Broncos, is not the same player during his prime in the Pacific Northwest. He won a Super Bowl in 2014 and gave the 49ers headaches in memorable matchups with their division rivals.
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