Brock Purdy is slowly but surely turning doubters into believers.
The 49ers quarterback had another big game in San Francisco’s win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, and FS1 host and noted Cowboys fan Skip Bayless compared Purdy to Likened to one of the greatest players at the position, it’s even thought the 23-year-old might be a step ahead.
“It took me a while to come to terms with (Tom) Brady, it took about a year and a half because I was a Joe Montana fan and I kept saying, ‘No, he doesn’t have that big of an arm, and he ‘s not very mobile. I looked at Purdy and he didn’t even have Tom’s arm,” Bayless said Monday morning on “Undisputed.” “He doesn’t have Tom’s height, because Tom is 6-foot-4, and I don’t know what we’re going to give this kid, 6-foot-1 to 6-foot-2 or something, but he’s mobile. He can move in the pocket to create passing time. , the first touchdown he threw to (George) Kittle on the move, that was a great moment, NFL, pro football pitching. He threw a couple of Estos balls.
“My point is, he’s an early Tom Brady. He’s in that arc. He’s because he didn’t do anything wrong. I kept hearing last week, ‘Well, he only had five touchdown passes. , zero interceptions.’ So now he’s nine-0. Is that good enough? He’s started and finished 12 games in this league, and he’s 12-0 in those games. 12-0? That’s It’s impossible. You can say scheme, you can say (49ers coach) Kyle (Shanahan). You can say talent. You can say all of the above. You still have to play the position at the highest level.”
Before Brady became a seven-time Super Bowl champion and three-time NFL MVP, he was the 199th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.
The Bay Area native spent nearly his entire rookie season on the bench as the New England Patriots continued to play alongside their Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Brady played in just one game that season, completing 1 of 3 passes for 6 yards in a 34-9 loss to the Detroit Lions.
However, over the course of his 23-year career, Brady has proven himself, to say the least.
Twenty-two years after Brady’s name was announced in the draft, Purdy had to wait until the final pick of the 2022 draft to hear his name called.
The No. 262 pick, also known as “Mr. Irrelevant,” entered the league as San Francisco’s third-string rookie quarterback behind former 49ers quarterbacks Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo. Everything changed in Week 13 of last season.
Purdy took over as the 49ers’ starter, and that hasn’t changed since.
“He’s a lot better than (Cowboys quarterback) Dak Prescott thought he was because he’s calm and composed. He’s composed,” Bayless continued. “…I mean, we have a Wizard playing for the Wizards, because this kid is a Wizard. I’ve never seen anything like it. I thought Tua Tavailoa was in Miami and (Dolphins coach Mike) McDaniel does it together, but it’s a whole different level.”
While Purdy has been successful since becoming San Francisco’s starting center, he’s still a long way from Brady’s status. But at least he’s definitely on the right track.
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