Steve Young Explains What 49ers QB Brock Purdy Needs to Bounce Back

From 2022 to 2023, Brock Purdy made playing quarterback in the NFL look easy.

Jan 7, 2023; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Steve Young attends the game between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

From 2022 to 2023, Brock Purdy made playing quarterback in the NFL look easy.

Almost every time he dropped back to pass, he quickly found someone open and delivered the ball accurately. Then, 2024 happened, and suddenly everything seemed difficult for Purdy. Even his best plays were a struggle.

This week, 49ers legend Steve Young went on The Rich Eisen Show and discussed what Purdy needs to have a bounce-back season.

"For Brock, his superpower is processing," Young said. "So Brock, when he's thriving, you saw it a couple years ago, you give him incredible talent that can get open quickly and he can process through it and get to that guy like nothing. All of sudden last year, those guys got hurt, they weren't open right away, and now he needed to extend the play and things started to go haywire. Like he always tells you, he's not the biggest, he's not the fastest, he's not the strongest, so his game is really about processing and you getting open quickly and getting a little protection and moving and getting the ball out.

"If that happens, and we get that kind of speed and attack on defenses and the timing is right and it's in and out, then he's going to be dangerous. If it goes like last year, people are hurt, that's not happening, protection starts to break down, I got to start running around, ball starts to fly, all of a sudden, there's interceptions, that's a tougher spot," Young explained. "The guard rails are wider for the 49ers this year. It's different, but yet, there's still a path forward to go attack the Super Bowl.

WIth all due respect to Young, I'm not sure that Purdy's superpower is processing. Lots of quarterbacks can find open receivers when almost everyone is open. Even Jimmy Garoppolo processed well when he had Christian McCaffrey on the field.

Each year Purdy has been in the NFL, his interception percentage has gone up. He needs to work on his decision-making and protect the football. That should be his superpower.