49ers' George Kittle reveals when he knew Brock Purdy would be good

San Francisco 49ers star tight end George Kittle didn't even need to see quarterback Brock Purdy in the starting lineup last December to know the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft was ready for prime time before Christmas.

"I knew he was good because of the way he was practicing against our defense," Kittle said about Purdy during the latest edition of the "49ers Talk" podcast, as shared by David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "You'd see him, he'd have these highlight throws against our awesome defense. I'd be like, 'All right, well, hey, worst-case scenario, he's not going to be bad.' And hey, he turned out [to be] pretty good."

Purdy began his first NFL season third on the QB depth chart behind Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo before Lance suffered a campaign-ending ankle injury in Week 2. After Garoppolo went down with a broken foot in the Week 13 game against the Miami Dolphins, Purdy guided San Francisco to a win in a relief appearance and then prepared for his first NFL regular-season start — a matchup versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Earlier this summer, 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk recalled how the Buccaneers executed a flawed defensive game plan against the Purdy-led offense. Kittle explained how Purdy was cool and wise beyond his years against Miami on Dec. 4. 

"The very first third down, he comes in, oh my gosh, it's cover zero," Kittle said about Purdy. "He steps right up, delivers a nice strike. I'm pretty sure they cover-zero blitzed him like a couple of times that game. He delivered on all of them, and they had to stop doing it. And next thing you know, we're winning by like three scores."

Purdy completed 25-of-37 pass attempts for 210 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the 33-17 victory over Miami that proved to be a preview of things to come until he suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow during the NFC Championship Game. He said earlier this week his arm feels "great" as he works to get "back to a normal routine," and Kittle sounded confident the second-year pro will be good to go when the 49ers open the upcoming regular season at the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 10.