Ever since Ryan Clark started his journey as an NFL analyst, the former NFL star has been dropping controversial gems one after the other. However, one of his most polarising takes in recent memory was about the 49ers and Brock Purdy’s pedigree. Speaking to Shannon Sharpe at ESPN’s post-match show, Ryan Clark made a controversial take. The former Washington player blurted out that it’s hard for him to see Purdy in the NFL MVP conversation with the likes of Mahomes and others.
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As per Clark, the reason for this is because Brock Purdy’s performance has been mainly due to the top players around him finishing their chances. Compared to others in the NFL MVP conversation, Clark feels that the 49ers QB would struggle to perform in the same manner if he didn’t have Christian McCaffrey and Deebo around him.
“Brock Purdy doesn’t elevate his teammates around him. And so when you talk about Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, the people around them benefit from having those sorts of players at the quarterback position.”
After establishing Purdy’s lack of pedigree, Clark then went on to suggest a change in the 49ers’ system for the playoffs. What separates the greats from their peers is their ability to produce moments of magic in crunch situations. Ryan Clark believed that this is one of the reasons why the 49ers needed a change in the system for the Playoffs.
Ryan Clark says Brock Purdy doesn’t elevate his teammates, yet Brandon Aiyuk had a career year and George Kittle had his first 1,000 yard season since 2019.
Purdy: #1 in deep ball completion %, #2 in red zone comp %, #4 in pressured comp % #49ers
pic.twitter.com/PFkfQJjdA2— Chase Senior (@Chase_Senior) January 22, 2024
The former Washington legend believed that the San Francisco-based team should channel their attacks through RB Christian McCaffrey in the playoffs solely due to him being their best player. Clark felt that if they relied on their existing system and Purdy, they would lose the playoffs due to the lack of pedigree in their QB.
“So if you’re the 49ers, you’re thinking this team that we were starting to run through our quarterback better run through Christian McCaffrey because if it doesn’t, they’re going to find themselves at home again without a ring,” said the NFL legend boldly.
Back when Ryan made this astounding statement, the former NFL star received a lot of flak online. While the common sentiment against Ryan was why fix something that’s not broken, many didn’t realize that Ryan’s statement was from a growth perspective. As Clark had predicted, the 49ers offense froze as the stocks rose in the overtime. Purdy & Co. completely fumbled the bag in the final quarter too resulting in their eventual loss.
