It was 18 years ago when the San Francisco 49ers selected Alex Smith with the #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, with the intention of Smith, the Utah-product, becoming their franchise quarterback. Though that never came to fruition, Smith did carve out a nice seven-year career as the starter in San Francisco before spending another seven seasons in Kansas City and Washington. The reason this is all notable is because Smith is now coming to the defense of Brock Purdy, the quarterback that the 49ers selected with the 262nd pick in the 2022 NFL Draft with no intentions of him becoming their franchise quarterback.
Now whether Purdy can elevate himself to the status of “franchise quarterback” remains to be seen. The story has been nice, Purdy has proven his success is legitimate, and there's no doubt that he has shown he should've been selected much, much higher than with the final pick in the draft. But with the 49ers on a three-game losing streak, which has coincided with the worst stretch of Purdy's young career, it's no surprise that the naysayers have come out to put the blame on the shoulders of Purdy. Alex Smith is not one of those naysayers.
“He is not the problem,” Smith declared during an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio (h/t David Bonilla of 49ers Fan Zone). “When you turn on the tape, this guy routinely makes ridiculous plays in the passing game look routine. Exactly that. He does it week in and week out. There are multiple pass plays every single week that you look at that are like, ‘Man, this guy's a six-year, seven-year veteran.' He's playing at that level.”
I tend to agree with Smith, who also noted that the Niners have been without wide receiver Deebo Samuel and left tackle Trent Williams, two pieces of the 49ers offense that are directly tied to the relative success or failure of their quarterback. With a tough test against the 6-2 Jacksonville Jaguars coming up, Purdy could quiet all of the noise if he could help San Francisco get back on the winning track.