The battle for the 49ers starting quarterback in 2023 is taking place this offseason between Trey Lance, Brock Purdy and Sam Darnold.
While Purdy is thought to be the favorite after his successful end of the season run as a rookie, former starter Lance and former Panthers starter Darnold are showing off their talents during offseason workouts so far. And, apparently, Darnold is impressing some people in attendance.
NBC Sports San Francisco reporter Matt Maiocco spoke very highly of Darnold while speaking on KNBR’s Murph & Mac podcast this week. Maiocco went as far to say that Darnold is the “most talented thrower” that he’s ever seen from the 49ers.
“Sam Darnold might be—can I say this—the most talented thrower of the football that the 49ers have ever had,” Maiocco said. “Let’s just put him in the very high echelon of guys who can just drop back in the pocket and throw the football. I think that he hasn’t really had any chance to succeed since his college days are over. I think he’s had four head coaches in five years, five offensive coordinators in five years. He’s a talented guy.”
This was quite the astonishing statement from Maiocco, especially when looking back at some of the talented quarterbacks in 49ers history—most notably, Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Steve Young. And, Maiocco said this jaw-dropping statement before Darnold has appeared in a game for San Francisco.
Maiocco went onto explain how each of the three quarterbacks excel in different areas, and he believes it’s throwing for Darnold.
Completion percentage isn’t the only statistic that means something when it comes to throwing, but it’s an interesting note to look at in Darnold’s career. In Darnold’s five-year career thus far, he’s averaged a completion percentage of 59.7%. During the 2021 season, which was the last time Darnold was the main starter for a team, he ranked 30th out of 33 quarterbacks for completion percentage at 59.9%, per Team Rankings.
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan has yet to name a starter for the 2023 season, but as of now, Maiocco noted that Purdy’s winning the job.
