With stars like Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams not in camp, maybe the San Francisco 49ers have reason to worry. That’s true even if they keep getting guys with 99 OVR ratings for Madden 25. But most of the worries could be centered on key players struggling early during training camp.
At the head of that list is quarterback Brock Purdy, who seems to be throwing interceptions at an alarming rate for any QB. And this is a third-year player who had 31 touchdown tosses to just 11 interceptions for the 2023 season.
Purdy has been one of the NFL’s best since he took over as the starter in 2022. His overall record is 17-4, and he has thrown for 5,654 yards with 44 touchdowns in just 21 starting assignments.
Also, struggling for the 49ers in training camp is another quarterback. Backup Joshua Dobbs finds himself in a battle with Brandon Allen for the No. 2 spot at the position.
What’s up with 49ers’ QB Brock Purdy?
Maybe nothing. For Purdy it seems to be a camp thing as he struggled with picks last year as well. According to nbcsportsbayarea.com, Purdy said training camp pass decisions are different.
“It's a fine line,” Purdy said. “You want to be efficient (and) you want to go through reads and protect the ball. But now is the time for us to go out and, you always hear quarterbacks say ‘experiment.’ But that's really what it is. Can I fit it in this window on this hitch? Can I look off Fred (Warner) or (49ers linebacker Demetrius Flannagan-Fowles), or De'Vondre (Campbell) in a certain way and make that throw backside? You got to try it out.”
And it’s different when the stats count, Purdy said.
“In the game and in the season, it comes down to protecting the ball every snap, every play,” he said. “So, you can't necessarily try those things out, (but) right now we can.”
Whatever the case is for Purdy throwing the ball to the wrong team in practice, head coach Kyle Shanahan says it’s really not a problem.
Shanahan told sports.yahoo.com that there’s a different story on each play.
“I know stats are made a big deal in practice and I know that’ll stick out too,” Shanahan said. “We never want a lot of picks in practice, regardless of who it is. But Brock has never really had an interception problem. He’s protected the ball pretty well in this league for his two years. He also isn’t scared to let it rip, too. But that’s something I really haven’t been worried about with Brock on. And that’s why those stats are also something that hasn’t bothered me at all.”
What is Purdy doing from an approach standpoint?
Purdy is focusing on staying in lockstep with Shanahan’s scheme. He said on Audacy’s The TK Show, via nbcsportsbayarea.com that he doesn’t worry about having carte blance freedom in the offense.
“Kyle schemes up things really, really well,” Purdy said. “He's one of the best play callers in the league. So for me, I'm still looking at it like I'm learning from this guy. However he sees it and whatever he's calling, I'm going to trust that and we're going to roll with it.”
But Purdy said there are spots he can make the change.
“There are certain times and situations where we get looks that I've seen multiple times within the pass protections or being hot where I think, yeah, the next level is to feel comfortable enough to be able to change protection or to be able to give a receiver a look and give them a route that I see,” Purdy said. “And I think he has given me that freedom. But over time, it's been continuing to learn from him and grow from him and what he does and calls has been successful. I'm going to play within that system and if I ever do see something, I can do it. But I have to be able to come back off the sideline and tell him why I did that.”
The bottom line is Brock Purdy is OK. His training camp struggles don’t matter in the least at this point. However, if he steps into the regular season and posts a three-pick game early, all of these images and stories from training camp will likely begin to float around again.
Joshua Dobbs joined Purdy on the struggle train
It’s not like Dobbs is going to be headline news with his struggles, but he is supposed to be the 49ers’ answer if Purdy misses any games. Unfortunately for Dobbs, it hasn’t beenm a great camp.
According to si.com, Dobbs hasn’t distanced himself Brandon Allen in a battle for the No. 2 quarterback spot. Certainly Allen isn’t killing it in training camp, but he’s making strides even under the pressure of dealing with Shanahan’s detailed offense. Allen told mercurynews.com it can be tough, but having a little experience with it — something Dobbs doesn’t has less of — helps.
“I think everyone knows Kyle’s offense is difficult at times to get down and be comfortable in,” Allen said. “It comes with reps and studying and having that whole year to come back and be in the same system has been good. I’m definitely more comfortable with the verbiage. I’m able to call plays a lot easier.”
Of course, Dobbs has made a name for himself in learning offenses. He digested playbooks from the Browns, Cardinals, and Vikings last year alone.
“It seemed like every time you got settled it was like, ‘OK, let’s go learn a new offense, learn new teammates, learn a new city and try to get reacclimated to go out and play,” Dobbs said.
Dobbs finished with a record of 2-9 last season, throwing for 2,464 yards with 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
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