49ers' Brock Purdy responds to NFL personnel rankings snub

Members of the NFL community and pockets of San Francisco 49ers fans were surprised to learn earlier this month that league executives, coaches and scouts recently surveyed by ESPN did not rank San Francisco's Brock Purdy as a top-10 quarterback for the 2025 season. 

During a Thursday appearance on San Francisco radio station KNBR, Purdy addressed that apparent snub. 

"Everybody can have their opinion and stuff," Purdy said, as shared by David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "And for me, it's always been how can I be the best version of myself, right now, today, for the 49ers? And all that matters is, every Sunday, we go out there, and you try to win. And how can I be a quarterback that elevates the guys around me, go out and find a way to win? And I feel like I've done that the last couple of years."

The ESPN list compiled by Jeremy Fowler indicates some around the league still view Purdy as a "game manager" regardless of all that he has accomplished. The final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft has thus far started in a pair of conference championship games, is a one-time regular-season Most Valuable Player Award finalist and guided the 49ers to within one play of winning the Super Bowl back in February 2024. 

Per the StatMuse website, only Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson posted a better passer rating (106.1) than Purdy (104.9) from 2022-24. According to Pro Football Reference, Purdy ended the 2024 regular season ranked seventh in the league among qualified passers with a 67.9 adjusted QBR. That's impressive considering an injury crisis plagued the 49ers last fall. 

49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan made their feelings about Purdy clear when the club locked the 25-year-old down via a five-year, $265M contract extension that included $181M in guarantees and a no-trade clause this past spring. Thus, Purdy has millions of reasons to ignore QB power rankings ahead of the upcoming season. 

"There's always going to be people saying things, and obviously, lists come out and rankings come out, and all the things, but for me, I don't buy into it," Purdy added during his comments. "My whole life, it's been like that. I've always been the overlooked guy. And for me, I just always got to have the chip on my shoulder, and go out there and compete every single day, and not care about the highs or the lows, but just being consistent. That's all I care about."

 

As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the 49ers tied for fourth among the betting favorites at +950 odds to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LX. Such information shows some insiders expect Purdy and Co. will enjoy a bounce-back season after the 2024 49ers went 6-11.