San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy received the pregame ESPN profile treatment Monday ahead of the
Niners’ Week 7 game against the Minnesota Vikings, and despite his best efforts, newly minted ESPN analyst Alex
Smith was unable to elicit much from the platitude-loving quarterback.
Highlights of a sit-down discussion with Smith included the following revelations:
It was inspiring for Purdy to be selected last in the draft.
Fun times. The only informative thing to come out of the interview was a comment made by Smith, who played
quarterback for the Niners for eight years after being selected first overall in the 2005 NFL draft.
“You overheard Troy (Aikman) say it earlier. Despite all of the discussion about Brock Purdy being a’system QB,’ no
QB makes that type of noise. “And I think you and I agree on this,” Smith told ESPN co-analyst Robert Griffin III.
“There are certain traits you have to have to play quarterback in the National Football League, and Brock Purdy has
them.”
And Smith makes an excellent point: you’d be hard-pressed to find a former NFL quarterback who calls Purdy a
“system QB.” Shannon Sharpe, a former tight end and current hot take machine, was the loudest beater of the
“system QB” drum to date, with a full news cycle devoted to his Purdy ideas.
Super Bowl champions Aaron Rodgers, Troy Aikman, and Kurt Warner have all praised Mr. Irrelevant.
