Ryan Clark Takes Shots at 49ers QB Brock Purdy

Now we see how people really feel about Brock Purdy.

He was in the MVP race all season, so critics had to hold their tongue. But then he struggled against the Packers in the playoffs, and people remember he struggled in his last full playoff game against the Packers, and the criticisms have resurfaced.

Here's what ESPN analyst Ryan Clark said recently about Purdy:

"The single hardest thing I had to do this year was act like Brock Purdy deserved to be in the conversation with (Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen). Because he was playing extremely well and operating in that offense and distributing the ball to George Kittle and Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, we had to continue to include him in conversations with Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen. Those things are not alike. Brock Purdy is a fine player. Brock Purdy can operate in Kyle Shanahan's offense at an extremely efficient level. Brock Purdy doesn't raise the level of play of anyone around him. And so when you talk about Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, the people around them benefit from having those sorts of players at the quarterback position. Brock Purdy benefits from having the sort of players he has at the skill positions around him. And so when we look at that game against the Green Bay Packers, even with Jordan Love throwing an inexplicable interception to end the game, I was sitting there thinking that the NFL world should be excited that Jordan Love doesn't play for the 49ers. We're starting to get into the realm the 49ers used to be in with Jimmy Garoppolo, where it was, 'Yeah, with Kyle Shanahan calling plays and the players around him, we can be really good, but can our quarterback take us to the next level?' And now that it's getting down to the critical moments, the moments that turn good players into legends, that turn good teams into teams we never forget, we're starting to see -- you don't take Brock Purdy over Jared Goff right now, and you for sure don't take Brock Purdy over the two dudes in the AFC. So if you're the 49ers, you're thinking this team that we were starting to run through our quarterback better run through Christian McCaffrey, because if it doesn't, they're going to find themselves at home again without a ring."

My take: Clark isn't wrong. Purdy certainly doesn't belong in the conversation with Mahomes, Jackson and Allen yet, and Goff did play better than Purdy this past weekend. And Shanahan should run the offense through McCaffrey. Because McCaffrey can deliver a Super Bowl, and if he does, Purdy will become a legend no matter what.