The speed of Brock Purdy’s rise has been staggering. For a moment, it seemed like the 49ers’ Super Bowl hopes were lost with Jimmy Garoppolo’s foot injury.
But Purdy’s poise, ability to execute the offense and ability to never get gun-shy have seemed to elevate the team to a new level.
It’s a stunning turn of events, and it starts with Purdy’s disposition.
Steve Young joined KNBR on Wednesday and said there’s an energy surrounding Purdy that reminds him of something he saw with Patrick Mahomes in his rookie year.
He called it “the force,” pointing to his presence on the field, his accuracy, the way he handles information and playing with a clear head.
“Patrick Mahomes reminded me; when he first took the field, we were in Monday night in Denver in his rookie year, and he’s playing and that’s when he did the left-handed throw,” Young said. “He was rolling left and I was just taken aback at how present he — when you stand on the sidelines and you’ve played a long time, you get the benefit of — your heartbeat is about 42, you’re just watching the game.
“If you could play that way it would be awesome, but everyone else on the field is freaking out because the pressure and the adrenaline and everything else. But here’s a guy playing, you’re like, wait, why is his heartbeat at 42? Because heartbeat’s are at least 100-110. And that’s what I saw in in Patrick that was shocking to me as a rookie. And I think that same kind of thing with Brock.”
It’s that Jedi-like calmness and control under pressure that has Young so impressed by the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Listen to the full interview below. You can listen to every KNBR interview on our podcast page at knbr.com/podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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