How Brock Purdy Needs to Improve in 2025

One of the main reasons the 2024 season was mediocre for the San Francisco 49ers was because of Brock Purdy.

He was incapable of stepping up when the team needed him. Or rather, his attempt to step up led him to be someone he's not, which led him to have a down year with some poor moments.

Purdy didn't play within himself last year. The loss of Christian McCaffrey factored into that significantly. McCaffrey had been in every one of Purdy's starts since he took over the job.

Purdy had to learn how to play a game without his best offensive skill player. Unfortunately, it caused him to play errantly and uncharacteristically.

Now that he is being paid like a true franchise quarterback, he cannot duplicate his 2024 season in 2025. Purdy needs to bounce back and improve from it, and it starts with getting the ball out of his hands.

Purdy had the sixth-highest time to throw (2.93) last year, but had the ninth-highest pressure rate (36.9 percent). He wasn't far off from facing pressure on half of his drop-backs.

This is what has led to there being so many critics of the 49ers' offensive line. All the pressure Purdy received last year gets attributed to the offensive line.

However, the fault lies with him. Purdy was holding onto the ball for too long last year. The offensive line would give him good protection initially.

His offensive line isn't bad, but it isn't that good to allow him roughly three seconds to throw consistently. He isn't throwing behind the Philadelphia Eagles' offensive line.

The clock needs to be ticking in his head to get the ball out of his hands. Instead, he was holding onto it, looking to make a play.

The 49ers' offensive line gets the blame for it when half of the pressures or more are Purdy's fault. He needs to protect them as much as they protect him.

The next area of improvement for Purdy is his mentality. Since he didn't have McCaffrey, Purdy decided to take the playmaking upon himself.

That is what led him to throw for a career-high 8.7 air yards per attempt, ranking as the seventh-highest in the league. That isn't Purdy's style and what made him a successful quarterback.

Purdy's playmaking mentality can be attributed to McCaffrey's absence. When McCaffrey debuted in Week 10 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Purdy played within himself.

He averaged his second-quickest time to throw (2.73 seconds) and his fewest scramble yards per dropback (6.4). It's not a coincidence that it occurred when McCaffrey was back.

The issue with this is Purdy can't change up based on McCaffrey's availability. If he ends up missing games in 2025, he cannot go back to trying to be a playmaker on every down.

He needs to play smart and take more checkdowns. Keep the drive alive even if it is a dump-off for only five yards. This is also what led him to make errant throws, some leading to interceptions.

He's trying to force throws a lot more, just like how he's forcing himself to be someone he isn't. In 2025, he cannot be someone he's not. He needs to play within himself.

If he doesn't, the 49ers' offense will sputter again. But if he does recognize the areas he needs to improve on, he will get back to his 2024 form or better.

The 49ers need him to be in order for 2025 to be a bounce-back season.