Young reveals the main trait Purdy should focus on in his development as a QB originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
Young Steve was a dual-threat quarterback before he existed.
Your legs have always been a weapon. He became a top-notch passer and a first-ballot inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Now, Young would like to see 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy take the opposite approach to advance your game and stay one step ahead of defenses.
Purdy has already shown the ability to run a high-end, sophisticated passing attack.
What is the next step?
“He’s going to have to have his savvy feet to help him out a little bit,” Young said of Purdy in 49ers talk recently at the American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in South Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
Young rushed for a career-high 537 yards in his first season as San Francisco’s full-time starting quarterback. He finished his career with 4,239 yards and 43 touchdowns on the ground.
He believes Purdy can utilize his athleticism to expand his game. Purdy showed a glimpse of that part of his game in the second half of the NFC championship game against the Detroit Lions, scrambling four times for 49 yards.
“There are free yards in today’s open play,” Young said. “It’s a different game than 20 years ago. And guys can get them (yards) with their legs in key moments. He needs to think about spitting out 50, 60 yards a game with his legs.”
Young referenced the game-changing abilities of Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson to convert on third downs in contests. He believes Purdy can have some success in that area as well.
“Look, Brock knows he’s not that guy,” Young said. “But he can be a threat. And I think this threat needs to appear more this year.”
Young said after the 49ers’ comeback NFC divisional round victory about the Green Bay Packers, he had a conversation upon leaving Levi’s Stadium in which he learned of the Packers’ plan to defend Purdy.
Since Purdy doesn’t have the strongest arm, the Packers knew Purdy needed to process quickly and get rid of the ball. Young was told that Green Bay’s defense was trained to run where Purdy was looking because they knew he wouldn’t stay in the pocket on slow-developing routes.
“He has to process it even faster and the ball has to come out even sooner because the longer the play goes on, the more people move away, essentially,” Young said.
On a rainy night in which both quarterbacks struggled, Purdy completed 23 of 39 pass attempts for 252 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Packers quarterback Jordan Love threw for 194 yards with two crits interceptions in the fourth quarter.
“The interesting thing is as Brock matures, his game will have to mature as people study him,” Young said.
“It will be a graduation we will all experience.”
Purdy worked this off-season to improve his arm strength and accuracy, while also training to become a greater threat with his evasiveness in the pocket and scramble.
Young said he believes much of what separates quarterbacks in the NFL has less to do with physical attributes than the mental side of the game.
And in those areas, Young noted that Purdy is the best there is.
“He does an incredible job of emotionally and mentally blocking out his faith and really doesn’t let anything slip away from that,” Young said. “So there is purity and peace in the way he dealt with complexity. And I admire that. I think it’s an amazing thing.”
