The craziest thing about Brock Purdy's unlikely rise? The praise is well deserved (2023)

Everything about Brock Purdy's rise is incredible.

By now you know his biography:four good years at Iowa State, an excellent college player. The last player selected in the draftHerr Irrelevant, he should support Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo with the San Francisco 49ers. He was pushed into the lineup after injuries suffered by Lance and Garoppolo. The Niners' title hopes were in jeopardy. But rather than founders are the Niners better with Purdy at the helm as they prepare to face the Dallas Cowboys for a spot in the NFC championship game on Sunday.

In his seven games since taking over from Garoppolo, Purdy has thrown 16 touchdown passes, skated a few more and thrown just three interceptions. The Niners have outscored their opponents 239-120 with Purdy playing the role of conductor. Confident, poised, accurate, and named Brock, there's nothing not to like about him.

Before Purdy got on the lineup, the Niners had an EPA top-10 offense per game. With Purdy, they've jumped into the top three.

Some young Boys grow in increments. Some arrived fully formed. There are few holes in Purdy's game. In his seven appearances, he's only made a handful of missteps. Many quarterbacks get off to a decent start in their careers before things collapse -- they're helped by the scheme or a great receiver or opposing defenses who lack knowledge of their abilities. But Purdiamania looks and feels different. It feels real

Purdy's playoff debutwas his best performance to date. Not because he was dominant from start to finish against the Seattle Seahawks, but because he struggled early, dug his way out of a hole, and helped score an insertion in the second half.

Sure, he ended up in the ideal ecosystem. Kyle Shanahan's offense is a beautiful football machine cheat code. And Purdy is surrounded by absurd talent. At every game, San Francisco can field the most dangerous offensive quintet in the league: Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Brandon Ayiuk and Kyle Juszczyk.

Individually they are excellent. Together they are unstoppable. The Kittle, McCaffrey, Ayiuk, Samuel and Juszczyk axis offers a level of formation flexibility unmatched by any starting group in the league. You can hammer teams with the barrel. You can spread it. They can open players or play one-on-one matchup soccer, with Kittle or McCaffrey or Ayiuk or Samuel dunking any fool who dares enter their area code. And they pair the best collection of skill talents with one of the best offensive lines in the NFL and left tackle Trent Williams, the best individual linemanthe most valuable position.

There's no telling what will leave the Niners huddle - or where players will line up. It's a confusion-inducing offense that induces paranoia in opposing defenses. You can capture opponents almost in real timefull of Sam Neill, raising their sunglasses to the sky in shock, fear and awe, as if they'd just seen something from the Jurassic era leap out of the crowd.

Even if you can figure out what's going on, teams don't have the talent to go head-to-head with superstars in five different positions. Concentrate all that talent in one position, say receiver, and the defense needs to make some adjustments. But pairing a star running back -- who also doubles as one of the best slot receivers in the league -- with a star tight end, a wide receiver, a hybrid receiver/back, and a do-everything tight end/fullback , changes the geometry of the field.

It's a deadly cocktail. Moves, shifts, and pre-snap moves, the bedrock of the Shanahan Offense, add confusion. Any of the Niners' best playmakers can line up anywhere on the field. The possibilities are rightly endless. In the midst of the matchup chaos, defense is chasing ghosts.

On Saturday there were only two Pass attempts with a Seattle defender in "close cover".NFLNext generation statistics. Meaning: Purdy only threw two – TWO! - Passes with a defender within one yard of a receiver. There's "open" and then there's whatever that is.

With this combination of playmakers and playmakers, any quarterback can keep the offense going. Hit the layups, rack up around 20 points per game, and get out of the way when the league's top defense takes over.

But Purdy doesn't just keep it moving. Garoppolo has mothballed some of Shanahan's most intricate designs; Purdy amplifies them. Both can perform the basic offense, but Purdy offers off-schedule magic that can buy extra beats and is impossible to defend.

It's that instinct - that willingness to run from the pocket and go for the concept - that has proven to be the only flaw in his game. It's an instinct that puts the upper limit on San Francisco's offense but could also get the quarterback in trouble.

Smart defenses -- and they come no smarter than those of the Dallas Cowboys and their coordinator Dan Quinn -- can set traps to force Purdy out of the pocket. Improvisation can work against a lackluster pass rush in Seattle. Against the Cowboys' fearsome front line featuring Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence? Much luck.

If Purdy can deliver against the Cowboys on Sunday, the Niners will roll into the NFC title game with the best offenseandbest defense in the league. And that will raise thorny questions for the future. Nobody at the Niners is going to admit that today, but they know the truth: Purdy played infinitely better than Lance.

This version of Purdy — the one who can get the ball in the right places at the right time and then use his legs to conjure up some magic when things fall apart — can pilot a title run and anchor a franchise.

Will the Niners go into next season with Purdy as a starter and Lance as a backup? Are they trading with Lance? Are they trading with Garoppolo?andLance? Do they hold one as an insurance policy? What if they both act and Purdy's early career exploits end up being a godsend? Does it matter if there's a Lombardi on the mantelpiece?

Purdy threw a hand grenade into the Niners' carefully choreographed plan. There are still too many unknowns to Lance about who the Niners aretraded up to choosein the 2021 draft. In the limited playing time, he looked like a shot at best and over his head at worst. Purdy is the opposite: a rookie who plays with a confidence that borders on nonchalant. He knows he belongs.

We haven't seen anything like this before. Kurt Warner bagged groceries before heading up The Greatest Show On Turf. Tom Brady was an overlooked college star who went on to be the greatest thing ever. Both ended up in ideal places to help them mature and develop as overlooked prospects. It wasn't Reason for winning games in their freshman year. Purdy is not the most important Reason for San Francisco's success, but he isaReason — this isn't a team trying to coach or hide their quarterback, but to embrace their skills and aggressively call plays to magnify what they do best.

A group is not about having the most qualified people to fill a particular role. It depends on how well these people form the collective. It might not have been Ringo Starrthe best drummer of the Beatles, but he was certainly the best drummerProthe Beatles. Lance's physical ability may be the most talented quarterback in the Niners roster, but Purdy is the best quarterbackProdie Niner.

From the last pick in the draft, Purdy is now the pivotal player who will decide the postseason. If he plays at that level, the Niners have the potential to play through everyone in front of them. Any dip against the Cowboys on Sunday and their season will collapse. Let's take a step back to understand how bananas are.