Hall of Famer throws shade toward 49ers QB Brock Purdy

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy leads the NFL among qualified players with a 123.1 passer rating and an 83.5 adjusted QBR heading into the weekend but has left Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe somewhat unimpressed. 

"He's not an elite quarterback," Sharpe said about Purdy during Friday's edition of the ESPN "First Take" program, per Tristi Rodriguez of NBC Sports Bay Area. "He's a product of the system. It's more credit to (head coach) Kyle Shanahan and what he's done...I'm not so sure that if we remove (wide receiver Deebo Samuel) if we remove Kyle Shanahan, we remove (receiver Brandon Aiyuk), we would still see this Brock Purdy. He's a product of the system." 

Sharpe is hardly the first person to offer such a take this season. Just last week, Shanahan said it is "ridiculous" to suggest Purdy is merely a product of his offense, but former quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky later generated headlines when he claimed that Mac Jones of the New England Patriots "would be playing like Brock Purdy is" if Jones was San Francisco's QB1. 

Sharpe remarked that he is "not so sure" Purdy can match the plays that Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes makes on a weekly basis. As of Friday afternoon, OddsChecker listed Mahomes as the overall betting favorite at +475 odds to earn Most Valuable Player honors. Purdy was at +700 odds at that time. 

"But no, he's not elite," Sharpe added about Purdy. "In no stretch of the imagination is he elite." 

Purdy has won all 12 regular-season/playoff contests he's started and finished healthy, and many San Francisco fans will always wonder what could have been had the 23-year-old not suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow during the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles in January. 

Perhaps Purdy will turn Sharpe and others into believers when the 5-0 Niners play at a 2-2 Cleveland Browns side this Sunday that, according to ESPN, is allowing the fewest passing yards (125.0) per game this season.