The 49ers' Offensive Triplets Ranking Comes Down to Brock Purdy

The San Francisco 49ers are known to have some of the best skill players across the NFL. However, their offensive triplets, or the best passer, rusher, and receiver, ended up just at number eight entering the year, per Matt Verderame of Sports Illustrated.

San Francisco 49ers have 8th best triplets in the NFL

Verderame notes that health is a key factor, as he chose George Kittle coming back from an injury, Brock Purdy with injury questions from last year, and Christian McCaffrey bringing usage questions that could lead to injury.

Still, on paper, if this group were healthy, they would have a case to be even higher. There are a few running backs who are going to rank ahead of Christian McCaffrey. When looking at the top seven teams and their skill players, the only running back who can compare to McCaffrey is Jahmy Gibbs. The next best two are James Cook and Derrick Henry.

At pass catcher, Puka Nacua, Amon-Ra St. Brown, CeeDee Lamb, Ja’Marr Chase, and Travis Kelce rank ahead of Kittle. Kelce is the only one who can debatably be below Kittle. The other players in the top seven include DJ Moore and Zay Flowers, who are clearly behind Kittle.

So, with the second-best running back and sixth-best pass catcher in the group, they have a case to be a bit higher. The question comes down to Brock Purdy.

The quarterbacks ahead of him include Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Dak Prescott, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Jared Goff, and Matthew Stafford. Those are the best in the NFL. The only names that Purdy can compare to at this stage of his career are Prescott and Goff, and right now, those two even have a slight touch more sustained success in the NFL. Purdy is not the sole reason that the team is not higher, but of the eight quarterbacks, it is easiest to rank him eighth compared to the other two players in the triplet group.

This will be a major season for Purdy. After being close to an MVP in 2023, the offensive line fell apart next to him, and his skill players could not stay healthy. In 2024, he had Trent Williams and Christian McCaffrey and proved that it's all he needs to succeed. However, he could not stay healthy enough to remind fans and media entering this offseason. Those two are healthy, but they are getting older. Can Purdy put together a strong and healthy season?

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