We’re 21 regular season starts into Brock Purdy’s career and there remains a handful of common criticisms against the 49ers’ quarterback. Some of those criticisms are fair, others are not. Perhaps the loudest misconception of San Francisco’s signal caller is that he’s a “dink and dunk” quarterback. The implication being that Purdy doesn’t push the ball down the field, and instead checks down with short throws and allows his stable of elite after-the-catch weapons to do the heavy lifting.
While there are some instances where that is the case – denying the 49ers’ collective after-the-catch prowess would be misguided – the “dink and dunk” label is largely anecdotal since the numbers overwhelmingly say otherwise.
Let’s define “dink and dunk” here. There’s plenty of nuance to it, but for the sake of this piece we’re calling it short throws (0-9 yards beyond the line of scrimmage) and throws behind the LOS.
Purdy last season tied for No. 33 in percentage of throws behind the line of scrimmage among 37 qualifying QBs per Pro Football Focus. Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes and Tua Tagovailoa were Nos. 3-5, respectively.
Short throws are the same story. Among 42 qualified QBs, Purdy ranked 34th in short throw rate. Cowboys QB Dak Prescott was No. 7 in this category.
Now, it is true that Purdy doesn’t spend a ton of time chucking the ball deep. His 10.3 percent deep throw rate was tied for 27th in the NFL (he still finished ahead of Mahomes).
On the other hand, he made the most of the deep throws he did make. Purdy was PFF’s highest-graded passer on throws 20-plus yards beyond the line of scrimmage thanks in part to his 57.9 percent completion rate on those throws (No. 2 in the NFL) and his 12-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio.
Since he wasn’t throwing it short or deep a ton, the intermediate area of the field is where Purdy thrived last season. He threw it 10-to-19 yards beyond the LOS 25.9 percent of the time – the third-highest rate in the league behind Raiders QB Jimmy Garoppolo and Texans QB CJ Stroud. Tagovailoa was right behind Purdy. It’s not a coincidence that Nos. 2-4 had either Kyle Shanahan or former Shanahan assistants as play callers.
Purdy didn’t have as much success in the intermediate area of the field last season as he did as a rookie, but the volume was still among the highest in the league. It helped him tie for 12th in the NFL with Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence and Bills QB Josh Allen in average depth of target. He finished ahead of Prescott (No. 15), Geno Smith and Justin Herbert (tied for No. 18), Tagovailoa (No. 22) and Mahomes (No. 37).
It is true that Purdy gets help from his offensive weapons and his play caller. That’s the case for a lot of QBs though, and those are critiques separate from the “dink and dunk” one.
The fact of the matter is Purdy does push the ball down the field. He also has some designed screens and check downs that help him out, but he utilizes them at a much lower rate than we see elsewhere around the league. Perhaps Purdy isn’t a franchise QB. Perhaps he can’t be the rising tide that lifts all boats once the team has lost some of its stellar offensive arsenal. Those things remain to be seen, but one thing we can conclude is that Purdy is not a “dink and dunk” quarterback.
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