For much of the 2024 NFL season, the San Francisco 49ers were the league’s top dog. Their grip on the top step of the league’s hierarchy came into question in the regular season when they were dismantled by the Ravens on Christmas night, and again on Super Bowl Sunday when Patrick Mahomes happened. However, for five months, the Niners were Super Bowl favorites and a team that the rest of the league was looking up to.
San Francisco is a premier organization in the National Football League, and Carolina would be wise to learn a thing or two from how they’ve built the most talented roster in the league. Here’s what the Panthers can learn from the 49ers.
There are more similarities between Bryce Young and Brock Purdy than most would like to admit. They both win with top notch timing and accuracy. Neither boast incredible arm strength. They are both slippery runners and adept at making plays out of structure. Neither have elite measurables for the quarterback position. They were selected in back-to-back picks in the NFL Draft (Purdy with the last pick in 2022, Young with the first pick in 2023), but each came into the league with vastly different expectations. Purdy has delivered (and then some), Young, thus far, has not.
The 49ers have made the game easy for Purdy. The quickest way to ensure success for an NFL team is to build a star-studded roster around a quarterback on a rookie contract and San Francisco has done just that. Purdy is protected by an elite offensive line, and has a stable of weapons to throw and hand the ball to that nobody in the league can compete with. The game is on rookie mode for 2022’s Mr. Irrelevant.
