Going into draft season this past year, there was a lot of emphasis on how this quarterback class graded out, and how it was one of the weakest quarterback classes to come out in years.
It turns out a lot of that speculation may have hit the nail on the head, given how the majority of the rookies have panned out so far this season, outside of one certain “Mr. Irrelevant” out in San Francisco.
Kenny Pickett, Desmond Ridder, and Malik Willis all have had multiple games of starting experience to this point, but none of them have particularly stood out as a difference-maker in this as of yet.
Pickett, who has the most experience of the bunch, has been the brightest of said group, especially of late as he guides the Pittsburgh Steelers on their win streak with 4 out of 5 of the last games. Willis and Ridder, on the other hand, have not shown a ton, neither being able to find a win or a passing touchdown as of yet. Both clearly have a lot of learning to do in the league.
Brock Purdy, of course, has been the clear-cut best quarterback of this class. Whether the Kyle Shanahan system has a lot to do with that or not remains to be seen, but playing at the level he is cannot solely be system-dependent, and there’s something that other teams clearly missed with the former Iowa State signal-caller. He has looked poised, understands what is in front of him, and has been ultra-productive and accurate within the quarterback-friendly system. He has outplayed both Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo when they had their respective shots earlier in the season.
It will be interesting to see how all of these quarterbacks develop and grow in the future, as the usually wild ride that is the NFL churns forward to see if each of them can adapt in the future. While Pickett and Purdy have shown the most early in their careers, there’s nothing to say that someone like Willis or even an injured Matt Corral can’t turn their excellent physical skillset into the future at the position for each of their respective franchises.
