Now entering his third NFL season, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is focused on changing his attitude and his mindset.
In an exclusive with the San Francisco Chronicle's Michael Silver, Purdy described his mindset shift and approach.
“With as good of a team that we have, I want to get to that point where we get to the third quarter, there’s a couple of drives that are crucial, I’m on top of my stuff, we convert on third downs, and we score touchdowns and the lead just gets out of hand,” Purdy told Silver. “It’s having that Tom Brady kind of feeling. Late in the game, it always felt like Tom was just going to take over and not make it close. I feel like I can get to that.”
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Purdy further explained to Silver that he wants to be more assertive with his playmaking in games.
“I want to be dominant,” Purdy told Silver. “Not just win games and feel like, ‘Eh.’ I want to be dominant with consistent decisions and feeling like we’re the top dogs every day.
“There were moments last year in games where I would just — I don’t know what it was in the situation — but we’d be up and it’s, ‘All right, be smart with the ball,’ or ‘Let’s just make sure we don’t mess up.’ I want to break through that and get to this point of just being dominant, for four quarters, man. That’s my mindset.”
Purdy had an exceptional sophomore campaign in the NFL, leading San Francisco to Super Bowl LVIII and setting the franchise record for passing yards in a single season.
San Francisco 49ers
Still, there were plenty of shaky moments against the top teams in the league, particularly the Kansas City Chiefs in the 49ers' Super Bowl defeat. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s defensive schemes made life difficult for Purdy, who struggled to make big plays down the stretch as Kansas City pulled out the overtime victory.
Now entering the final year of his cheap rookie contract, Purdy and San Francisco are in win-now mode. Given the recent record-breaking contracts for Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Green Bay Packers signal-caller Jordan Love, Purdy stands to get a large payday once he’s eligible for a new deal.
While the 23-year-old's meteoric rise from the last selection in the 2022 NFL Draft to becoming one of the best quarterbacks in the league has been remarkable, many pundits still believe that Purdy is overrated, with his success a result of Kyle Shanahan’s coaching acumen and the superstar offensive talent surrounding him.
After his first fully healthy offseason, Purdy will look to silence the doubters and lead San Francisco to its long-awaited sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy.