The Athletic’s Mike Sando released his annual QB Tiers. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy remained in the second tier, which is categorized as:
A Tier 2 quarterback can carry his team sometimes but not as consistently. He can handle pure-passing situations in doses and/or possesses other dimensions that are special enough to elevate him above Tier 3. He has a hole or two in his game.
Purdy was at the bottom of the tier at No. 14, behind No. 6 Jayden Daniels, Justin Herbert, Jared Goff, C.J. Stroud, Jalen Hurts, Dak Prescott, and Jordan Love. Brock ranked 12th in the 2024 QB tiers.
It’s fair to call Purdy a Tier 2 QB. You get into subjectiveness and semantics when you’re arguing whether he’s the ninth or 12th-best quarterback. Does that really matter? The takeaway here should be that Purdy is being recognized as one of the upper-echelon quarterbacks in the league.
I’m curious to see how Purdy gets treated by opposing defenses this year. How do teams defend him? Playing man coverage against Purdy is a dangerous game, as he can hurt you with his legs if somebody isn’t open within the structure of the play.
From the media side, Purdy is no longer on a rookie contract. Does he get graded harshly now that he’s not viewed as Mr. Irrelevant contractually anymore? Or if he does “franchise QB things,” will Purdy get rewarded? The 49ers are expected to win around 12 games this season. That usually doesn’t happen with anything close to average quarterback play, anomalies aside.
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford was bumped into the first tier, with Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson. Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (15) and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (t20) were in the third tier.
Quarterback rankings will always create discussion, but they are meaningless in the grand scheme of things. It’s a volatile position that your teammates impact, a bounce here or there, and the defense. How differently would Lamar Jackson be viewed if Mark Andrews converted in the playoffs last season? Stafford should have been in the first tier, and that would be a nearly unanimous choice if the Rams blocked Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter in the playoffs.
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