There is no denying 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is special, and he has displayed countless abilities that prove it since taking over as San Francisco's starter last season.
But there is one trait in particular that some NFL signal-callers are just born with, and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan believes Purdy possesses it naturally while other quarterbacks lack it: Field vision.
“I think it's a God-given trait that develops," Shanahan told reporters of Purdy's field vision during Monday's conference call. "I think you're on a certain spectrum. The more times you get put in those situations, the more reps you can get, your preparation to what to anticipate in those situations, everything can make that a talent that you were kind of born with that you can extremely excel in or that you don't really develop.
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"I don't think if you don't have it, it's not something that you can just develop. You have to have a certain amount of that and some are higher than others and some I think can make it better the more football they play and the more situations they get in. But, you definitely have to have a certain amount to be able to see the field like that.”
Purdy sees the field incredibly well and only has improved in that aspect over time, making up for what many analysts determined to be a lack of size, arm strength and speed for the 23-year-old by anticipating what's going to happen and improvising along the way.
Of course, the Faithful understand those post-draft assessments of Purdy no longer hold any weight -- he is the NFL's most accurate deep ball passer this season, and he leads the league in nearly every statistical quarterback category despite the 49ers selecting him last overall in the 2022 NFL Draft.
There could be a couple of reasons Purdy fell so far in the draft, as recently pointed out by Greg Cosell of NFL Films. His ability to read defenses and anticipate where his receivers will be when he throws the football are two skills he didn't need to display often during his four seasons as a starter at Iowa State, and those are the traits that have made him so successful at the NFL level.
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Purdy's overall play currently has him among the favorites to win the 2023 NFL MVP award, but it's his field vision that might truly set him apart from the pack.
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