Not many people in the NFL knew who Brock Purdy was until the second half of last season. Mr. Irrelevant emerged out of the San Francisco 49ers’ dungeon to salvage their season and introduce himself to the world.

Purdy went undefeated in the regular season and also played quite well in the playoffs. However, an elbow injury early in the NFC Championship Game put an end to his dream-like start to his career.

Now, he’s beaten Trey Lance for the QB1 spot, drawing plenty of praise around the league. Recently, even former Pro Bowl QB Jeff Garcia talked about what makes him so special.

Jeff Garcia Raves About Brock Purdy

“The thing about Brock Purdy, he knew where to go with the football,” Garcia told Jack Hammer of The Press Democrat. “He didn’t take a lot of sacks. He didn’t make a lot of mistakes. When things broke down around him, he lengthened the field with his feet.”

“He became a threat as a runner,” continued Garcia. “I’m not going to say those were certain things that reminded him of me, but there were things out there like that. Hey, he’s a smaller stature guy but that doesn’t matter. He understands the game. He understood defensive coverages. He understood what was going on offensively and where to go with the football and that was impressive.”

Niners Are Encouraged By His Recovery

Purdy is making great steps in his recovery, according to Niners GM John Lynch. However, the executive also claimed that they’re not going to rush him back into the field:

“He’s had one (throwing) session thus far and we’re incredibly encouraged by that,” Lynch said on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “He’s hitting all his marks and that doesn’t surprise us, because he’s putting in all the work.”

“As for best-case scenario, we’ll take it as it comes. The hope is he’s ready for training camp. The hope is he’s ready for the regular season,” the GM continued. “We feel good about that position holistically. We are not going to put Brock in a situation where he’s not fully healed. That means not just get back, but get back and get in reps under your belt.”

Purdy took the team by storm and keeps solidifing himself as their No. 1 signal-caller for the foreseeable future. Now, it’ll be up to him to pay that confidence back with his play on the field.