San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy took the NFL by storm in his rookie season. His position coach thinks Purdy can be even better in his second year.

Brian Griese, QBs coach for the Niners, expressed optimism that Purdy would pick up right where he left off. “We won 12 games in a row, we get into the NFC Championship Game and there’s still so much room for improvement,” Griese told The Mercury News.

But first, Purdy will have to lock down the job of starting quarterback for the 49ers. While he has taken the most reps with the first-team offense, Purdy faces competition from former first-round draft picks Trey Lance and Sam Darnold. Both have both gotten their fair share of work with the starters during training camp.

Purdy also remains on a “pitch count” as he recovers from offseason surgery to repair a torn UCL he suffered against the Eagles in last season's NFC Championship Game

Despite splitting reps and being limited physically thus far, Purdy is far and away the favorite to open the season under center for the Niners after a rookie season that nobody could see coming.

The last draft pick of the 2022 draft, aka Mr. Irrelevant, Purdy was slated for third-string duties last season. However, injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo forced 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan to insert the Iowa State product into the lineup. The team won all five of Purdy's regular season starts and defeated the Seahawks and Cowboys in the playoffs before falling to the Eagles one game short of the Super Bowl.

Griese for one doesn't see any sophomore slump in Purdy's future. “We went back and looked at it, identifying all the areas Brock Purdy could improve off what he did last year. You start to get excited about that.”