Can a quarterback in one week become both the highest-paid player in franchise history and the "most underrated'' QB in the NFL?
ESPN apparently thinks so.
The 2025 NFL season is coming, so it must be "List Time,'' and ESPN is doing its part by having ranked the most underrated players in the league.
And who does the Worldwide Leader pinpoint as that honoree at QB?
Strangely, according to ESPN's Aaron Schatz, the most underrated quarterback in the NFL is Brock Purdy.
Schatz attempts to prove his angle with deep-dive stats, writing, "Overall, Purdy performs well in metrics that try to separate a quarterback from his receivers and his blocking. For example, Purdy was seventh in the NFL with a 67.9 QBR for the 2024 season. Kevin Cole's adjusted quarterback efficiency, which attempts to adjust for everything from yards after the catch to dropped passes, had Purdy seventh in value per play (ninth in total value). And Purdy was fourth in Ben Baldwin's adjusted EPA per play (which also has adjustments for pass protection).''
Yes, yes, but ... what about ...
1 - Purdy and the 49ers struggling mightily last year?
2 - Purdy and the 49ers just now finalizing a new five-year contract extension that pays him a whopping $265 million?
How can a guy making $53 million per year be "underrated''?
Schatz writes of how Purdy should've been "a legit MVP candidate in 2023'' but that he wasn't "because he received too much help from San Francisco's offensive scheme and his talented teammates.''
There is some validity there.
And over the course of his career? The former "Mr. Irrelevant'' since taking over as the 49ers starter in 2022 has completed 67.5 percent of his career passes for 9,518 yards with 64 touchdowns and 27 interceptions.
The numbers are fine.
But the salary is even finer.
Which makes "underrated Purdy'' a near contraction in terms.
