San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy appears to be playing with more aggression this season, and he may owe his development to one offseason addition: defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.
Morris has the 49ers' defense playing at a high level. That was evident in the Week 6 brawl between the 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. The unit has allowed 297.2 yards per game this season, ranking sixth in the NFL, while surrendering just 199.6 passing yards per game, the league's eighth-best mark.
And the defense will likely only get better as the season progresses.
Morris has also encouraged his defensive backs to play more aggressively, particularly in man coverage. Facing that secondary throughout training camp may have helped prepare Purdy for the challenges he's encountered in 2026. The quarterback leads the NFL with a 9.2% touchdown rate, well ahead of the 7.0% marks posted by the next-closest quarterbacks: Kirk Cousins, Trevor Lawrence, and Patrick Mahomes.
Offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak credits the 49ers' defensive backs' aggressive play with helping Purdy develop his game. Through five games, Purdy has thrown for 1,196 yards and a league-leading 13 touchdowns, with just two interceptions.
"I think when you go against a secondary that's aggressive, that's sticky in playing man coverage, that's aggressive in jumping routes, that they're taking their shots, it does a lot of things," Kubiak said. "I think, one, it makes the quarterback better. It makes him more accurate. It makes him have to be more aggressive. It allows him to see the type of throws he can make versus those looks.
"So it challenges Brock, challenges Mac [Jones] to see what they're capable of doing versus that type of DB play."
Purdy also believes facing Morris' secondary during training camp helped sharpen his approach.
"I thought we had a great camp going up against Raheem's scheme and everything," Purdy shared. "Obviously, our guys are our guys, but the way he coached them up this year and has made changes with how he runs his defense, I thought it was great for us during camp. A lot more man-match technique and tighter windows.
"It felt like everything for me had to be on time, and it had to be aggressive. I don't know if there was as many layered kind of throws, just because of how they run things. Everything for me, it seemed like it was just always tight, and the vision zones of dropping back and dropping it in the bucket over hook defenders and stuff like that. You get that every once in a while, but for the most part, he made me have to play aggressive.
"And I appreciated that, actually. I think that's translated into the season for me to throw with that—I know we've talked about this—but that aggressive mindset and everything. So, it's a big credit to Raheem."
Of course, Purdy isn't the only 49ers offensive player who has benefited from facing Morris' aggressive secondary. The team's wide receivers have also had to sharpen their skills against tight coverage throughout training camp.
"Our receivers, a lot of camp was man-to-man coverage, and let's be one-on-one," Kubiak continued. "Let's get open. Let's compete. Let's run routes versus bad leverage, all those things.
"And so, at the end of the day, I think you go against an aggressive secondary, it makes your offense better. It challenges us every day in a good way."
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