Brock Purdy Is Healthy and Ready to Rock for Fantasy Drafts in 2023

The San Francisco 49ers are no strangers to the spotlight during the offseason. Between blockbuster offseason trades , quarterback battles, and quarterback injuries, the 49ers have certainly been the focus of more offseason buzz than most other NFL franchises in recent seasons.

Third-stringer-turned-starting-quarterback Brock Purdy has been the primary focus of the 49ers' 2023 offseason.

Last season, the former "Mr. Irrelevant" stepped in for the team after injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo forced him into action, and while an elbow injury in the NFC Championship game cost him most of the offseason, Purdy "played too well" not to be the team's starting quarterback moving forward.

According to general manager John Lynch, Purdy has just been "cleared without restriction" to return to the field in time for training camp.

Purdy's return to the starting job means we can finally project the 49ers' offense with confidence for the upcoming season. A Brock Purdy offense would look much different from a Trey Lance offense -- and we don't want to talk about a potential Sam Darnold offense.

But does Purdy himself hold value in fantasy football drafts?

Brock Purdy Fantasy Football Projections

(All projections via numberFire.com)

Positional Ranking: QB22

Stats:

• 542.7 pass attempts
• 351.7 completions
• 3,850 passing yards
• 25.1 passing touchdowns
• 11.7 interceptions

Brock Purdy Fantasy Outlook

Another Shanahan Quarterback Joins the NFL

Over the years, arguably no offensive play-caller has been able to put his quarterbacks in better situations than 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.

As the team battled constant injuries and turnover at the quarterback position, they still managed to get efficient play out of their signal callers -- even after transition to second- and third-stringers.

Longtime starter Garoppolo averaged 8.3 yards per attempt in his years in San Francisco. Their 2021 first-round pick, Trey Lance, has averaged 7.8. Even third-stringers Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard averaged 7.9 and 7.0 yards per attempt in their starts with the 49ers, respectively.

Purdy, the most recent starter, averaged an elite 8.1 yards per attempt in the regular season before ramping it up to an absurd 9.0 per attempt in the playoffs.

We're not trying to put down what Purdy accomplished as an unheralded seventh-round rookie last year, but rather to illustrate just how much juice the "Shanahan System" can squeeze out of its signal callers.

Practice squad caliber players have put up elite efficiency numbers with the 49ers. Beathard, the least effective of the above-mentioned players averaged 7.0 yards per attempt, but in the 2022 season, those 7.0 yards per attempt would have tied Beathard with Trevor Lawrence as the 18th-most efficient quarterback in the league.

Obviously, efficiency in yards per attempt isn't everything -- those Mullens- and Beathard-led teams didn't win very many games -- but the team's track record sets the bar relatively high for the 49ers' passing offense in 2023.

If Purdy can be their first starter in what feels like a decade to make it through a full season unscathed, it's fair to assume the 49ers will put together another highly efficient passing offense.

Having him under center is good for players like Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, and Christian McCaffrey while similtaneously boosting Purdy's own fantasy value. If he continues to play efficiently, and those players continue to make the most out of their touches, the 49ers' offense is once again going to be fun to watch.

Is Purdy a Fantasy-Friendly QB?

We'd love for every fantasy-relevant quarterback to have as many exciting pass-catchers to throw to as the 49ers do. It certainly helps a quarterback's fantasy prospects when any of his top pass-catchers is capable of breaking off a long touchdown on any given play.

Unfortunately, that didn't translate into a ton of fantasy points for Purdy last season -- but it did give him a relatively safe floor of production.

His five regular-season starts generated 21.7, 16.5, 16, 17.1, and 19.8 fantasy points. He didn't have any week-winning Josh Allen-esque blowups, but there also weren't any weeks (until the NFL playoffs) where his performance tanked fantasy squads.

The 49ers were hesitant to fully put the offense on Purdy's shoulders when he first took over, but they allowed him to attempt close to 30 passes per game during the playoffs. In their first postseason game, Purdy's 30 pass attempts efficiently produced 34.9 fantasy points (his best mark of the season). However, in the Divisional Round against the Dallas Cowboys, his 29 attempts resulted in just 9.4 fantasy points (his lowest of the season).

He could see his passing volume tick up in a noticeable way in his first full season as the starter, meaning we could see his floor come up even higher than it was last year. But that game against the Cowboys illustrates some of the risks as a non-rushing quarterback.

Fantasy managers who miss out on elite options like Allen, Patrick Mahomes, or Jalen Hurts might look to Purdy in the later rounds as someone whose reliable production can help keep their team in the playoff hunt. For instance, managers who draft Kyler Murray to hold while he recovers from his knee injury could value Purdy's high floor as they bide their time.

According to FantasyPros' ADP (average draft position) data, Purdy is going off draft boards as the QB25 and as the 170th overall pick, making him a 14th-rounder on average. News of his clearance to return to the field may boost his ADP slightly in the coming weeks, but it shouldn't rise too much.

If you find yourself needing reliable production from the quarterback position in the final rounds of fantasy drafts, Brock Purdy could be the guy you need.

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.