Analyst shares bold take on 49ers QBs Brock Purdy, Sam Darnold

Former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky believes San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan can make things work with either Brock Purdy or Sam Darnold in the lineup. 

"I think Brock Purdy and/or Sam Darnold can take them to the Super Bowl if I'm being dead honest," Orlovsky said about San Francisco during a Thursday appearance on the ESPN "First Take" program, as shared by David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "Absolutely. Absolutely. Sam Darnold is incredibly talented. He's the most talented quarterback they have on the roster, throwing-the-ball-wise."

Interestingly, Orlovsky isn't the first noteworthy member of the football community to make such a claim about Darnold. This past spring, 49ers insider Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area said that Darnold "might be...the most talented thrower of the football that the 49ers have ever had." 

During a recent radio interview, 49ers legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young noted that one reason Shanahan preferred Purdy over former starter Jimmy Garoppolo is that the coach had "been begging for someone that he can call any play and get a trustworthy result." 

Orlovsky somewhat echoed that take on Thursday. 

"Kyle was, as a play-caller, I don't want to say burdened, but it felt if the play call wasn't ideal in that situation with Jimmy, it wasn't going to work out well," Orlovsky explained. "Jimmy's a good player. I'm not here to bash Jimmy. Brock Purdy brought a little bit of creativity to their offense."

Purdy famously won his first seven pro starts, including the playoffs, as a rookie last season before he suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow during the NFC Championship Game. Orlovsky reminded everybody Thursday that the 23-year-old remains a work in progress and is "still figuring out who and what he is at the NFL level."

Shanahan hasn't yet announced a final decision, but it seems he's close to naming Darnold as Purdy's primary backup, a call that would relegate 2021 first-round draft pick Trey Lance to third on the depth chart.