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San Francisco 49ers signal-caller Brock Purdy is not the shortest quarterback in the NFL. However, he is also not the tallest.
In fact, the 25-year-old recently admitted that he often cannot see over his offensive line and makes approximately 40% of his throws completely blind.
Purdy, entering his fourth season in the NFL, was never “supposed” to be here. You know the story by now. He was selected by the 49ers with the last overall pick in 2022, was thrust into the starting lineup after an injury to Jimmy Garoppolo, and led his team to the Super Bowl in his first full year as QB1.
Even in a down year for the organization, Purdy threw for more than 3,864 yards and 20 touchdowns playing with a banged-up roster in 2024. And as it would turn out, approximately 120 of his 300 completions last year were made without being able to see the guy to which he was throwing.
Purdy recently joined the Built 4 More Podcast to discuss a wide variety of topics. Among them was his height. At only 6-foot-1, his entire offensive line is no less than three inches taller than he.
As a result, the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers makes about 40% of his throws blind.
My quarterback coach, Brian Griese, he and I talked a lot about that. He played 11 years, his dad is Bob Griese […]
We got talking about how, really, it’s 60/40. You can see about 60% of the time and the other 40%, you really can’t. It doesn’t matter how big you are.
You know, I’m already short in stature, yes, but that’s why it is so important when it comes down to knowing coverages, knowing scheme, where are our players supposed to be, how many steps they’re breaking and where the ball should be over a certain backer. All of those things, it matters.
— Brock Purdy
Brock Purdy continued on to explain why events like the NFL Combine and Pro Days don’t matter. You might look good throwing against air. That is nothing like real life.
When it comes down to 11-on-11, and you’ve got guys that are a foot taller than you, and you can’t see, it comes down to the processing…
Like, before the play, I know that this safety is probably going to rotate down. It’s going to be one-high and I’ve got one hitch, no more than that, to rip it to where Deebo’s supposed to be— just inside the hash. And there’s a backer that also has a 40-inch vert that I’ve got to throw over… All those things.
— Brock Purdy
I find this to be super interesting. We knew that shorter quarterbacks have a hard time seeing over their offensive linemen. To hear it spelled out in such a way makes those throws just that more impressive. To hear that Purdy is throwing blind approximately 40% of the time is crazy! Imagine the split for a guy like Kyler Murray. It has to be closer to 40/60 the other way, if not greater. The quarterback position is so much more about feel, preparation and knowledge than it is about height. Fascinating stuff.
The post Brock Purdy Admits He Can’t See Over His Offensive Line And Frequently Makes Throws Completely Blind appeared first on BroBible.