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CBS Sports Predicts 49ers QB Brock Purdy Will Take a Step Back in 2024

It will be difficult to Brock Purdy to improve upon his performance from 2023 considering he led the entire NFL in passer rating.
Grant Cohn|
Feb 11, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid (20) and defensive end George Karlaftis (56) tackle San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) during the second quarter of Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 11, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid (20) and defensive end George Karlaftis (56) tackle San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) during the second quarter of Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports | Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

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It will be difficult for Brock Purdy to improve upon his performance from 2023 considering he led the entire NFL in passer rating.

That's why CBS Insider Garrett Podell predicts Purdy will "take a step back" this upcoming season.

"Brock Purdy set the NFL single-season record for passing yards per attempt (9.6) among quarterbacks with at least 350 pass attempts and led the league in passer rating (113.0) in 2023. However, that production likely won't be sustainable in 2024.

"Purdy averaged the most yards after catch per completion (6.6) and the most yards per pass attempts on screens (8.8) in large part to the production of teammates like 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey, Pro Bowl receiver Deebo Samuel, All-Pro tight end George Kittle and receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Those numbers could be volatile depending on the health and production of the 49ers' supporting cast coming off a long season that ended with a 25-22 overtime loss in the Super Bowl against the Chiefs.

"All of the aforementioned all-star talent surrounding Purdy put together a collectively healthy season. Between the entire league now having a full season of tape on him as San Francisco's starting quarterback and a possible health regression by his supporting cast, Purdy will naturally take a step back from a production standpoint in 2024."

I can't disagree with anything Podell wrote. Purdy could grow and improve as a quarterback and a leader, which I fully expect him to do, and he still could have a statistical regression for the reasons laid out above.

Life will get tougher for Purdy even as he gets better.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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