SANTA CLARA — Brock Purdy was quickly thrown into a leadership position when he was named the 49ers' starting quarterback in Week 13 of the 2023 season.
The young quarterback’s success has not been a surprise for guard Aaron Banks, who saw Purdy’s behavior from the first day he arrived at team headquarters.
“Brock kind of came in with a certain confidence and kind of swagger that you see in a leader,” Banks said after Wednesday's minicamp practice. “And I think he’s started to delve more into that the more years he’s been at the starting quarterback position.”
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2024 is the first full offseason for Purdy after getting very few reps as a rookie in 2022 and then not participating on the field in 2023 while recovering from successful UCL surgery. Banks was impressed with Purdy as a rookie and that has not changed.
“He was confident then, but he’s more confident now,” Banks said. “He’s kind of taken a more assertive role in the huddle and in the locker room. It’s hard to give an example. It’s just a feel you get from a guy.”
Without taking actual reps with the offense throughout the 2023 offseason — including all of training camp, Purdy had remarkable season. The Iowa State product was even named a finalist for both Comeback Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year for his record-breaking performance.
During OTAs Purdy has already been seen on the field coaching up newer members of the team, including free agents and rookies. The 24-year-old quarterback’s leadership has been valuable, because without it, the likelihood of the team playing deep into the NFL playoffs is very unlikely.
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“I’m excited to see what Brock puts out there this year,” Banks said. “I think he’s really confident. I think he’s starting to take that leadership role. One think I think I’ve see from Brock is that his demeanor hasn’t changed.
“As far as his work ethic and how he comes to work every day. It’s been the same from Day 1 when he first got here to OTAs two years ago to now.”
The 49ers have been dismissed for their 40-day long summer break, but rest assured that Purdy will return to Santa Clara ready to go when they reconvene for training camp in mid July.
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