Shannon Sharpe Not Ready To Call 49ers QB Brock Purdy 'Elite'

Shannon Sharpe is not sold on the narrative that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is elite.

On yesterday’s segment of “First Take,” Sharpe shared that he believes Purdy’s incredible production is more of a testament to the situation he is in rather than his natural ability. 

Sharpe noted that because San Francisco boasts one of the most dynamic collections of offensive talent in the NFL, much less is asked of Purdy than other quarterbacks in the league.

"In this system, the ability to run the football with Christian McCaffrey and all the weapons, because all he has to do is just not turn it over, get it in (Brandon) Aiyuk's hands, get it in Deebo (Samuel’s) hands, get it in (George) Kittle's hands, and let them do the work. But no, he's not elite,” Sharp said. “ no stretch of the imagination is he elite."

To be fair, a mind-boggling amounts of talent surround Purdy in San Francisco’s offense. But that didn’t stop Ryan Clark from giving Purdy high praise.

"Doing what he does, where he does it, with the people he does it with, he's a top-five quarterback," Clark stated. "Not only is he a top-five quarterback, he's a top-two MVP candidate. Brock Purdy is elite. When I'm watching that game Sunday night, I finally stopped fighting it, and I said, 'You know what, it doesn't matter where he comes from. It doesn't matter how he got there. It doesn't matter who surrounds him. Brock Purdy is an elite quarterback."

Brock Purdy's Production Is Elite, But Shannon Sharpe Still Might Be On To Something

It’s hard to argue the fact that Purdy performs like one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Through five games, he has 1,271 passing yards (ninth best in the league), a 72.1 completion percentage (second), nine touchdown passes (seventh), and zero interceptions (tied for lowest among qualifying quarterbacks). 

Forget the talent narrative for a second, to be top 10 in all those categories is thoroughly impressive. It’s also a big reason why he currently has the third-best odds to win the NFL MVP award. You can see why Clark and others believe Purdy should get more recognition for his play.

But would he have the same level of success in Arizona, New England, or Green Bay, where the situation isn’t as great? Because this is the NFL and not Madden, we’ll never know.

And that’s exactly why Sharpe’s argument holds weight.

Brock Purdy (13) may be an elite quarterback, but it might take more time for him to prove it. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)

"He's a product of the system," Sharpe said. "Now, that's not to take away from what he's doing. It's okay for him to be in the MVP discussion and not be Patrick Mahomes or not be Tua [Tagovailoa], or not be an elite quarterback. He still has to go out there and operate. He just doesn't have to do as much as, say, those other guys."

Chris Canty, the third speaker in this segment’s discussion, added that it’s too soon to determine if Purdy is in the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacks. Canty said he will need Purdy to play for a little while longer for him to form a more solid opinion.

"But I'll say this, it's trending in the right direction,” he added. 

Purdy and the 49ers kickoff against the Cleveland Browns at 1 p.m. tomorrow. We’ll see if Purdy continues his elite start to the season.