Former NFL safety T.J. Ward sees a San Francisco 49ers great in Brock Purdy's game as of late. Ward, who played eight years with the Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, wasn't shy about who he's comparing Purdy to this season.
"[Purdy is] starting to remind me of just a little bit, dare I say, Steve Young," Ward said on the Speakeasy podcast. "He looks like Steve Young. I've been watching the Niners my whole life, and this is pieces of Steve Young."
Ward made the comparison while arguing that Purdy has "mastered" Kyle Shanahan's system.
"We've seen Kyle Shanahan take a Jimmy Garoppolo to the Super Bowl," Ward said. "We've seen now Brock Purdy be the step above that."
The numbers back up the buzz. Through three games, Purdy
is completing 72.3% of his passes for 789 yards with nine touchdowns and one interception, averaging 9.5 yards per attempt. He has added 93 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. His 133.1 passer rating leads the NFL, and he hasn't been sacked as San Francisco has started 3-0.
Young's 49ers resume sets a high bar, though. In 13 seasons in San Francisco from 1987 to 1999, Young went 91-33 as a starter, completed 65.8% of his passes for 29,907 yards and threw 221 touchdowns to 86 interceptions with a 101.4 passer rating. He won two NFL MVP awards (1992 and 1994) and was named Offensive Player of the Year in 1992. He earned seven Pro Bowl selections as a 49er and was a first-team All-Pro three straight years (1992-94). He was named MVP of Super Bowl XXIX and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
Young's best season, his 1994 MVP campaign, produced 3,969 yards, 35 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, a 70.3% completion rate and a 112.8 passer rating. Three games in 2026 is a small sample for Purdy's trajectory, but it's the kind of start that has drawn the comparison.
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Ex-NFL safety sees 'pieces of Steve Young' in Brock Purdy's game
