Panthers great Greg Olsen believes Brock Purdy deserves way more credit for the 49ers success

Greg Olsen hails Brock Purdy and believes the QB deserves much more recognition than he is getting at the moment.

Panthers great Greg Olsen believes Brock Purdy deserves way more credit for the 49ers success

Brock Purdy and Greg Olsen (via CNN/Vanity Fair)

The San Francisco 49ers have been cruising through the regular season with the exception of the rough 3-week stretch where the team lost back-to-back games. A large part of their success is due to quarterback Brock Purdy who has really thrived this season.

Purdy leads the NFL in terms of QBR and is one of the frontrunners to win the MVP Award this season. Greg Olsen, the former TE for the Carolina Panthers and reputed broadcaster heaped praise on Purdy and stated he deserves far more credit than he is getting.

Olsen said this via the NFL on FOX Podcast:

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His decisiveness, his ability to process so quickly, his maturity, he has the feeling of a guy who has played a lot more than a season and a half. Everybody you talk to over there whether Sam Darnold who's the backup QB, Kyle Shanahan, or Brian Griese...no matter who you talk to they all say the same thing... he is uncanny in his ability to process, to see, to eliminate bad looks.
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The former tight end was in awe of Brock Purdy’s decision making ability. Purdy is not the most athletic looking person in the room, he ran the 40-yard dash at the Combine in 4.84 seconds, he has a vertical of 27″, and managed to complete the three cone drill in 7.21 seconds. Despite this, he has the foresight and IQ to ensure the ball ends up in the hands of the right receiver.

Brock Purdy has shocked the NFL with the amount of success he is having

Greg Olsen further stated: 

He just has an innate ability to be a great decision maker and process things very quickly, when he makes a mistake, not make it again...he has enough talent, he has enough physical skills to make all the pros.

The QB has 3,185 yards, scored 23 touchdowns, and has just 6 interceptions this season so far.

Greg Olsen and Brock Purdy
Greg Olsen and Brock Purdy (via CNN/49ers)

The last pick in the 2022 NFL draft is being compared to the legendary Kurt Warner, the greatest underdog of all time. Purdy is only the second QB in the NFL to have three games with three or more TD passes with a rating of over 140 in his first two seasons, a feat achieved only by Warner to date.

As Olsen stated, Purdy is a quick learner, he is like a sponge, while he does not give the impression that he is a top QB like C.J. Stroud or Tua Tagovailoa at the first instance, give him time, and he will outwork them and eventually outplay them.

Olsen said this as his concluding statement:

He deserves as much credit...he doesn't deserve less credit  just because he's in a good system with good players and a good coach.

The biggest criticism of Brock Purdy has been that due to Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel, he looks like an elite QB, the notion is that he is being carried by the 49ers system. While the team does have a great coach and key offensive players, it is not fair to disregard Purdy and his accomplishments, he deserves every bit of credit he is receiving.

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