49ers QB Brock Purdy looks like ‘young Russell Wilson,’ claims Kyle Brandt – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

Brock Purdy is trying to make a name for himself after becoming “Mr. Irrelevant” last season.

But comparisons come with the territory. And after he picked up where he left off in the 49ers’ season-opening win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Purdy was compared to the San Francisco quarterback everyone knows.

“We knew the 49ers [defense] It was good and they ran physical. “We didn’t really know how Purdy was going to turn out,” NFL Network host Kyle Brandt said. “Good morning football” On Monday morning. “He looks like a young Russell Wilson. Like the first two years in the league, Russell Wilson.

“Just a player. Mobile. He had a joke there throwing his body. He looked really good.”

Comparisons are always strange. And Purdy’s small sample size (compared to Wilson’s 12-year career) makes it difficult to fully dissect.

But what the football world has seen so far from the second-year pro has been nothing short of amazing. After injuries to former 49ers quarterbacks Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo last season, Purdy stepped in and led the team to eight straight wins until a Champions League injury doomed San Francisco’s Super Bowl aspirations.

In his first match since undergoing surgery to repair his elbow, he was consistent and quite successful. The 23-year-old threw for 220 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions on 19-of-29 passing in the 49ers’ 30-7 Week 1 win over the Steelers.

Of course, Wilson and Purdy have very different journeys in the NFL. The Seahawks selected Wilson in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft, and he started all 16 games for Seattle as a rookie. Ten years later, Purdy was the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and a third-string QB behind Lance and Garoppolo before emerging as a starter.

However, it’s hard to get past some of the similarities between the signal callers on the field.

Purdy’s timing, anticipation, and accuracy are very similar to Wilson’s in his early playing years. Both midfielders are great at sensing the rush of an incoming pass and finding ways to escape it. Although Purdy isn’t as fast as Wilson, the second-year pro has deceptive athleticism that shows up in flashes on the field.

They also both rarely panic, even in the most tense situations, which is extremely important for an NFL quarterback.

Purdy certainly doesn’t have the strongest arm in the world and he certainly doesn’t have Wilson’s deep ball, but it’s good enough to get the job done. It has worked well so far.

It helps to have weapons like Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and others as well.

Wilson, who now plays for the Denver Broncos, is not the same player he was during his time in the Pacific Northwest. He won the Super Bowl in 2014 and gave the 49ers headaches during memorable matchups with their division rivals.

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