Brock Purdy’s most recent quarterback ranking may seem modest at first glance, but a closer look through the eyes of NFL experts reveals the exceptional qualities that set him apart.

While some have labeled him as merely a product of a well-oiled system, the statistics tell a different story. Kyle Shanahan’s offense is renowned for its excellence, and Purdy has thrived within it like no other quarterback before him.

According to Mike Sando’s 2026 QB Tiers feature in The Athletic, Purdy shares the 11th spot with Caleb Williams, marking a three-position climb from the previous year. Out of 50 coaches and executives who participated in the survey, 34 placed him in Tier 2, 15 thought he belonged in Tier 3, and one believed he belonged in Tier 1. His overall voting score of 2.28 is the highest he has ever received.

This progress comes in the wake of a challenging 2025 season, during which injuries plagued Purdy, restricting him to just nine games. Despite his setbacks, he managed 2,167 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions—a stark contrast to his remarkable 2023 performance of 4,280 yards and 31 touchdowns.

Yet, evaluators saw something more than an uneven season. They emphasized a recurring insight: Purdy performs at a level that surpasses what the eye test might initially reveal.

“Stronger than you think. Faster than you think. Better than you think,” one defensive coach said.

Purdy’s first deceptive trait is his anticipation that he uses to carve up defenses. He does not possess the overwhelming arm strength that allows some quarterbacks to wait until a receiver breaks open. Instead, he identifies leverage and releases the ball before the window fully develops.

“He can see it so fast, and he makes quick decisions,” one head coach said. “He’s more athletic than you think. Really good player.”

That processing has translated into elite efficiency. Among quarterbacks with at least 500 regular-season attempts since Purdy entered the league in 2022, he ranks first in EPA per play at 0.179, first in success rate at 52%, first in yards per attempt at 8.64 and first in touchdown rate at 6.21%.

Since Purdy became San Francisco’s full-time starter in 2023, the 49ers rank third in offensive EPA per play.

The second surprise is how aggressively he attacks downfield, especially compared with other quarterbacks playing for Shanahan. Purdy is frequently described as a point guard distributing the ball to the 49ers’ playmakers, but his average target travels about 8 yards — ranking 18th among 50 qualifying quarterbacks. His passes have produced gains of at least 20 yards on 13.4% of his attempts — the highest explosive pass rate in the NFL over that span by a shockingly wide margin.

Purdy has completed 55.5% of his throws traveling at least 15 yards, compared with 36.2% for Jimmy Garoppolo in the same offense. He has also averaged 9.8 yards per play-action attempt while completing 72.1% of those passes.

Those numbers help distinguish operating Shanahan’s system from maximizing it.

Garoppolo helped the 49ers reach a Super Bowl and proved the scheme can elevate quarterbacks. Purdy has generated more explosive plays because he attacks beyond the designed first answer and possesses the mobility to create and extend plays when it disappears.

“The scramble game is awesome,” an offensive coordinator said. “He’s really hard to sack.”

Purdy has averaged 7 yards across 85 career scrambles, with more than a quarter gaining at least 10 yards. He has also completed 55.7% of his passes under pressure while averaging 6.9 yards per attempt.

His limitations remain real. One defensive coach noted that Purdy generates much of his throwing power through his lower body, making his mechanics especially important. Pressure can accelerate his footwork, while his aggression occasionally creates turnovers.

Still, Purdy’s anticipation helps compensate for an average arm, and his mobility gives Shanahan answers previous 49ers quarterbacks lacked. He has completed 64.3% of his third-down passes and converted 42.2% of his attempts into first downs.

The system-versus-quarterback debate ultimately presents a false choice. Shanahan creates defined reads and favorable matchups. Purdy succeeds because he recognizes those openings quickly — and can create when the design does not produce one.

“There’s things I do need to get better at, for sure, but I think there’s also things that I’ve seen myself do, and I just want to keep replicating,” Purdy told Tim Kawakami.

Purdy said winning, retaining the trust of his teammates and knowing he is executing correctly matter more than outside criticism.

“People can say what they want,” Purdy said. “There’s always going to be that. That’s part of the sport. And honestly, that sort of makes it fun.”

Purdy may not resemble the prototype, but his mild-mannered image conceals the anticipation, aggression and athleticism that have made him the best quarterback Shanahan has had as a head coach.

Apparently, it hides one more surprise: According to once coach featured in the ranking, Purdy talks “more s–t than you think.” Even his trash talk comes disguised.

“She was a wonderful mother.”

In a quiet yet assertive voice, Lindsay Clancy’s nanny took the witness stand, painting a heartfelt and positive picture of the woman accused of killing her own children. Clancy, currently on trial, stands as the focal point of this grave proceeding.

The testimony highlighted Clancy’s deep concern for her children’s well-being, particularly for her five-year-old daughter Cora, three-year-old son Dawson, and Callan, her eight-month-old baby. She worried intensely about her infant’s sleep and eating patterns.

According to the family’s nanny, Elaine Rossi, nothing in Clancy’s behavior ever suggested mistreatment or concern when it came to her kids.

Rossi’s testimony became the highlight on the seventh day of Clancy’s trial, which is taking place at Plymouth County in Massachusetts. Clancy, a mother of three, faces a potential life sentence for the tragic deaths of her children, which occurred on January 24, 2023, in their Duxbury, Massachusetts home—a town known for its prosperity and charm.

The former delivery nurse strangled the children with exercise bands in the basement then tried to kill herself – cutting her wrists and neck before jumping from the second-floor bedroom window.

While prosecutors allege she was of sound mind and planned the killings, Clancy’s defense argues she is not guilty by reason of insanity, because she was suffering severe postpartum depression and psychosis at the time.

Last week, jurors heard heartbreaking testimony from Clancy’s husband Patrick Clancy – who returned home to find his wife injured and children dead. Choking up on the witness stand – in what marked the first time he had seen his now-ex-wife since that tragic day – he also described Clancy as a devoted, loving mother whose mental health was spiraling.

Now, on Tuesday, jurors finally heard from someone else able to give a unique insight into what life was like inside the Clancy home at that time.

As the family nanny – who Cora and Dawson affectionately called ‘Laney’ – Rossi saw firsthand how Clancy interacted with her children in the months leading up to the killings.

She also had a distinctive perspective of the mom-of-three’s mental health struggles.

Rossi began working for the Clancy family in September 2022 after responding to a job advert posted by Clancy that July.

She worked for the family three days a week, in the mornings.

The plan had been that she would take care of Callan when Clancy went back to work around Thanksgiving so she started two months early so she could get to know the family.

While her main care was for Callan, she said she sometimes spent time with Cora and Dawson and also did food prep, laundry and light housekeeping in the home. Dawson and Cora were often at school during that time.

Clancy would leave her instructions about Callan’s care in a yellow notebook.

In the yellow book were notes around Callan’s sleep and schedule – something that Rossi said Clancy was concerned with.

‘Bottle when he wakes up,’ one note read.

‘Nap two,’ read another.

As an experienced nanny, Rossi testified that the instructions were ‘not at all’ unusual, overbearing or controlling.

Inside the courtroom, Clancy bowed her head and clasped her hands tightly on the defense table as ‘Laney’ flicked through the notebook.

The mom-of-three then crumpled into sobs when a brief heartbreaking video of the nanny feeding Callan a bottle of milk was shown in the courtroom.

Leaning over the defense table, she put her head in her hands and cried. Two rows behind her in the public gallery, her parents Mike and Paula Musgrove also grew emotional and looked down.

Across the room, a brief ‘aw’ sound could be heard coming from someone watching the adorable baby seemingly so content and happy.

When asked if she ever had any concerns about leaving Clancy with the children, Rossi was adamant she did not.

‘Not at all. She was a wonderful mom,’ she said.

She recounted one moment when Dawson – who was ‘full of energy’ – had struck his baby brother. Rossi remembered Clancy handled the situation appropriately, removing Dawson from the room and then consoling Callan. She had then spoken to Dawson about his behavior.

‘I observed a wonderful mom who loved her kids,’ she testified.

‘I did love Lindsay, yes,’ she later said.

While she never had any concerns for Clancy’s care of her children, Rossi revealed she was aware of some of the mom-of-three’s struggles.

Clancy had told her about her plans to stop nursing Callan so that she could start taking medication. She had also spoken to her about struggling with ‘postpartum and insomnia,’ she said – so much so that Clancy began sleeping in the basement. Clancy had also lost weight.

It was early December when she stopped working for the Clancy family.

Clancy had decided that she wasn’t going to return to work so she and Patrick told Rossi they would have to let her go.

The nanny’s insight into what Clancy was like as a mother came after toxicology and DNA experts also took the stand.

It was testimony that repeatedly prompted objection and rebukes from Clancy’s attorney Kevin Reddington who at one point leaped to his feet, waved his arms and proclaimed it was ‘gobbledy-gook’ as a DNA expert spoke.

One day earlier, Clancy had broken her silence in the courtroom to agree to a stipulation of facts – agreeing to chain of custody matters in a move that meant the prosecution would no longer have to call dozens of witnesses to simply be able to admit certain pieces of evidence.

Despite this, the technical descriptions and explanations of some pieces of evidence, such as blood stains and DNA on the exercise bands, kept coming.

Forensic toxicologist Justin Brower, who works at a private lab in Pennsylvania, revealed how a mix of drugs were found in Clancy’s blood following the tragic night in January 2023.

These drugs included two antidepressants, one anti-seizure medication which is also used to treat bipolar and one anti-psychotic drug, which can also be used for insomnia.

He testified that three of the drugs found in her system were at therapeutic levels – meaning that he would not expect to see them in someone suicidal.

However, the antipsychotic drug Seroquel was around double the level he would have expected to see.

The extent to which Clancy had taken a cocktail of drugs – and how high the doses were – is a key element of the case.

Her defense is arguing that she was in a state of psychosis – possibly triggered by being severely overmedicated.

She had been prescribed at least 13 medications in the months leading up to the killings.

However, the prosecution has sought to argue that Clancy did not take all the medication she was prescribed.

If convicted, Clancy will be sentenced to life without parole. If acquitted by reason of insanity, she will be admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

The trial continues

Tragic news has emerged from Florida, where a three-year-old girl’s life was cut short after a heartbreaking accident. The young child reportedly passed away a few days after her head became trapped in a kitchen playset, leading to her losing consciousness, officials revealed this week.

This unfortunate event unfolded in Boynton Beach last month while the little girl and her sibling were being cared for at a babysitter’s home, police confirmed.

According to the authorities, the children were under the supervision of the babysitter’s spouse since the primary caregiver had temporarily left the house, based on early police reports.

The Boynton Beach Police Department detailed in their statement that during the caregiver’s absence, the spouse remained upstairs. They mentioned that periodic checks were made on the children as they played downstairs, with snacks being provided occasionally.

It was during one of these check-ins that the spouse discovered the tragic situation: the three-year-old had her head trapped within the confines of a kitchen playset, according to the police report.

The Boynton Beach Police Department released this photo of the playset involved the death of a toddler, July 27, 2026, in Boynton Beach, Florida.

Boynton Beach Police Department

The wooden kitchen playset had been purchased off Facebook Marketplace a few years ago, according to the police spokesperson. The police department released a photo of the playset involved in the incident on Wednesday, noting that it has “no identifying markings indicating its brand, make, or model.”

“The toddler’s sibling advised that the child’s toys had fallen into the kitchen play set when they attempted to retrieve the toys and became stuck,” police said.

The child was not breathing, police said. The spouse removed the child and began performing life-saving measures until first responders arrived shortly after 11 a.m., police said.

The child was transported to a local hospital in critical condition, police said. She was pronounced dead on July 27, the police department said in an update on Monday.

The investigation remains ongoing, and no charges have been filed at this time, a police department spokesperson told ABC News on Tuesday.

Authorities did not say how long the child is believed to have been stuck. The name of the toddler and her cause and manner of death also have not been released.