Kyle Shanahan shares why Brock Purdy is perfect for 49ers

It was just two winters ago when head coach Kyle Shanahan wanted to bring legendary quarterback Tom Brady to the San Francisco 49ers as Brock Purdy was in the early days of his recovery from a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

Such a transaction never occurred, and Shanahan sounds grateful to have a healthy Purdy atop his depth chart this summer.

"Brock is exactly what you want to coach," Shanahan recently told NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. "He’s not sensitive. He’s truly comfortable with the truth. He allows you to coach him. He sees what’s wrong. You don’t have to sugarcoat it. He’ll see it before you do. …Brock is unique in that way."

Takes about Purdy being little more than a "game manager" still hover over the 24-year-old even though he helped the 49ers complete trips to two straight NFC Championship Games and to Super Bowl LVIII. While Purdy entered this past February as a Most Valuable Player Award finalist, the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft has made just 21 career regular-season starts at the highest level.

Purdy suggested he hasn't yet reached his ceiling regarding what he can accomplish in Shanahan's offense.

"It’s funny, people call me a system quarterback and a game manager and stuff," Purdy told Breer. "But, honestly, I feel like I can be better at that. That’s, I think, what may be missing."

Purdy could face an unexpected test if reports about the 49ers making unsettled wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk available to other teams before Week 1 are accurate. As shown by ESPN stats, Aiyuk was Purdy's favorite target in the signal-caller's first full season as San Francisco's QB1.

It sounds like Shanahan believes Purdy has the goods to get the best out of other weapons in the event that Aiyuk receives his desired trade.

"The guy’s played at a high level," Shanahan added about Purdy. "He’s done it consistently. He’s done it when playing with injuries. He’s done it when behind. He’s done it when ahead. He’s done it in playoff games. He’s shown that he’s a quarterback that you can win with. There’s not a ton in this world, but there’s a group of them. Where do you rank all those guys? That’s for you guys to decide."

As of Tuesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook continued to list San Francisco as the betting favorite at +250 odds to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LIX. How Purdy reacts to losing Aiyuk, assuming a trade occurs before Week 1, could ultimately determine if the win-now Niners meet the expectations many have for them ahead of the upcoming season.