Analyzing Day 6 of the 2023 49ers QB Competition

SANTA CLARA -- Here's what Brock Purdy, Trey Lance, Sam Darnold and Brandon Allen did on Day 6 of 49ers training camp.

BROCK PURDY

Completed 8 of 11 pass attempts and tossed two touchdown passes in the red zone. And still, Purdy was the worst quarterback on the field. He mostly dinked and dunked, he got sacked twice and he threw two passes that bounced off the hands of defenders and nearly got intercepted. First, Purdy wound up and telegraphed a pass to George Kittle, who was running a quick out, and the ball flew directly to Deommodore Lenoir, who dropped it. Next, Purdy scrambled out of the pocket to his right, forced a pass on the run to Christian McCaffrey and nearly got intercepted by linebacker Marcelino McCrary-Ball. Picks and near picks have been a big issue for Purdy in camp, and maybe that's due to rust after spending most of the offseason rehabbing a torn UCL in his throwing elbow. But Purdy had these issues last season, too -- defenders simply dropped lots of picks when he played. Purdy might not be so lucky forever. He clearly is the least physically gifted quarterback on the team, and his limitations are showing big time now that he's facing the No. 1 defense in the NFL. He has the slowest release and the weakest arm of the 49ers quarterbacks, and his deep throws have an extremely low trajectory. I understand that Purdy is a great story who played well for two months last season, but this is a new season, and he's a new Purdy with a new elbow. He should have to compete for the starting job. Because he could lose that competition. The 49ers shouldn't simply hand him the job, which is what they're doing. He hasn't earned the starting job yet. If he's good enough to win it, let him compete with Trey Lance and Sam Darnold, who have been practicing all offseason and are much more gifted than Purdy.

TREY LANCE

Completed 4 of 6 pass attempts and took one sack. Missed a couple easy throws he should have completed, but also protected the football. Didn't throw any passes that almost got intercepted or could have gotten intercepted or should have gotten intercepted. Lance has had three good practices in a row. The 49ers should reward him by giving him more playing time with the starters.

SAM DARNOLD

Completed just 2 of 6 pass attempts while splitting second-string reps with Lance. If Lance had played this poorly, journalists would have crushed him mercilessly. Instead, Darnold laid an egg, and no one cared. Funny how that works. Lance clearly is better than him.

BRANDON ALLEN

Completed all four of his pass attempts, which is nice. Unfortunately for him, he still isn't good.