The debate over where Brock Purdy ranks among the NFL's elite quarterbacks intensified this week after the San Francisco 49ers signal-caller was left out of ESPN's top-10 quarterback rankings, which were compiled using feedback from NFL executives, coaches, and scouts.
Despite entering the league as the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Purdy has produced impressive numbers throughout his career. In fact, if his career passer rating remains around its current mark of 104.0, he is expected to become the NFL's all-time leader in career passer rating once he reaches the qualifying threshold of 1,500 pass attempts. He enters the 2026 season just 147 attempts shy of that milestone.
ESPN's Dan Graziano joined KNBR this week and was asked about Purdy's omission from the top-10 rankings.
RELATED 49ers' Brock Purdy left out of ESPN's top-10 quarterback rankings
While the 49ers quarterback earned an honorable mention, Graziano admitted he was surprised Purdy didn't crack the top 10.
"I guess, he only played half a season," Graziano said, trying to explain the thinking behind the snub. "So maybe that kind of hurts him in people's minds."
Purdy appeared in just nine games last season as he fought through a turf toe injury. However, Graziano believes the biggest obstacle to widespread recognition may still be the circumstances surrounding Purdy's arrival in the NFL as "Mr. Irrelevant."
"And I really do believe that the way you enter the league kind of sticks to you for a while," Graziano continued, "and that there are going to be people that are just never going to be convinced on Brock Purdy because they didn't think anything of him the year he was drafted, and they still think, 'Oh, it's Shanahan,' or 'It's smoke and mirrors,' or it's whatever."
Critics have long dismissed Purdy as a system quarterback, arguing that his success is driven more by head coach Kyle Shanahan's offensive scheme and the talent surrounding him than by his own ability.
Graziano disagrees. He believes Purdy's sustained production has made it increasingly difficult to dismiss his accomplishments.
"When he's been on the field, he's performed, not just top 10, but top four or five, statistically, consistently since he's been the starter," Graziano said. "So, yeah, I would say he belongs on there (the top 10). The trick is, who do you take off?
"But, I think, coming off a season where he missed half of it due to injury, that probably hurts him in the eyes [of evaluators] ... I think in a lot of people's eyes, that may be the kind of thing that, when you're breaking ties, making your top 10 list, you maybe [say], 'Oh, the guy was hurt all last year, so I'm not going to move him ahead of whoever—Caleb Williams, Jared Goff—whoever's in the back end of that top 10.'"
Purdy is preparing for his fifth NFL season and has thrown for 11,685 yards, 84 touchdowns, and 37 interceptions over his pro career. His 4,280 passing yards in 2023—his first full season as a starter—remain the most ever by a 49ers quarterback in a single season.
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