Steve Young on Brock Purdy, Trey Lance and Sam Darnold

Discussions about the 49ers this offseason have all revolved around the quarterback position.

Last week Steve Young sat down with Matt Maiocco for the 49ers Talk Podcast. Who better to break down the quarterback controversy than a Hall of Famer who has been through one himself.

Here is what Young had to say about each of the three quarterbacks.

Brock Purdy

“We have this incredible, unique human being named Brock Purdy. And I’m not going to limit him. I’m not going to say, oh he’s not bigger, he’s not as strong, he’s not as fast, I’m just not going to limit him. I think he’s just an incredibly unique human made for quarterbacking and let him cook. I don’t know how else to say it. I don’t want to prejudge anything and say he can or can’t do. I think it’s all possible with Brock.

“But the problem is he tore a ligament. I was talking to Dr. ElAttrache who does a lot of these. We were talking about all of that. He said, first of all he would have done it differently. But that’s just another opinion. One thing for sure, if it stays on track there is a six-month period to get it to full strength. The thing that’s unusual is he does it for baseball all the time. He’s done it three or four times for football, but not in the car wreck scenario the way that he described for Brock, so he’s not sure. And so, he’s not sure. No one can know exactly how it’s going to go. If Brock is ready game one, it’s not going to be one hundred percent. Anyone who says he can rip a pass six months later; I don’t think it belies reality. Doesn’t mean he can’t play at ninety percent. We’ll see how it goes. If he’s ready, I’m sure they’ll play him.

“There’s a processing, I call it ‘the force’, it’s like a Star Wars analogy. It’s something you can’t describe. It’s just someone has ‘the force.’ And I think quarterbacking is so much that way. When I see someone who has the force, I don’t know how to tell you all the intricacies of what makes that, but you can just tell. Brock had it so thick. It’s like Luke Skywalker. Right away, he wasn’t the biggest guy, he’s not the fast guy, he’s not the strongest arm, but he’s got the force. Maybe as strong as anyone who’s playing.

“You talk about on top of the culture, the innovative offense, the play calling, and the talent, it all kind of comes together. It’s easy to say ‘last pick in the draft, at his size, arm strength, and everything else there’s limitations.’ When talking about Brock Purdy, I don’t think you should speak that way because I think he’s the kind of guy who’s going to make you look like a dummy.”

Trey Lance

“First of all, if I’m Trey I’m not leaving because this is where I’m going to find out how good I can be. I said the same thing to Jimmy (Garoppolo). So, try to stay as long as you can and find ways onto the field. And force your way onto the field, make it your job. Someone has your job, go get it. Go prove that the limitations that we think that you’ve had in the past, that we have had so little data on that we’re guessing anyway. Go put all those things to rest, and say to yourself, ‘I am so much more than you ever though I was.’ I think that would be fun, if I were Trey, I would be eager to go do that. Go show everybody.

“Anyone who says, ‘Trey can’t’, off what? What data. ‘Oh, one game. One play back at North Dakota State.’ Like, come one man. Stop. You don’t know. And I don’t think he knows. But he needs an opportunity to go prove it. I don’t know if he’s going to get it.

“If I’m Trey Lance, I am doing everything I can. And he’s doing it right now. That’s my job. I’m going to go get it. And I’m going to go create my own narrative about what I can and maybe can’t do.”

Sam Darnold

“I’m a Sam Darnold fan. My instinct tells me he was able to do something really hard, which is be dealt a really lousy hand, and send up flares that tell me ‘I’m ok. I’m figuring this out. It doesn’t look like much right now, but don’t leave me behind.’ So, because he was able to do that in New York and in Carolina, and in Carolina the system was just terrible for quarterbacks. I thought he showed me signs, give me something to work with, give me some clay and I’ll make you look great.

“Do not sleep on Sam Darnold. Sam is as talented as anybody in the league in doing the things that we, you know the outward things like arm strength, mobility, and all this stuff. Again, he’s going to have to show that he has the force.

“I think we have three who are unique, individualized. The Venn Diagram doesn’t have much intersection. There’s Trey. There’s Brock trying to get healthy. And there’s Sam trying to figure out how to get on the field.

“If there’s anywhere, you’d want them to be, it’s right here. If anyone I’d want them to be coached by its Kyle, right here. We get to watch it play out. If anyone says, ‘I know what is going to happen’ I don’t think you could possibly know what’s going to happen right now.”