Why 49ers' backup QB battle is underrated coaching camp storyline – Yahoo

Why 49ers’ backup QB battle is underrated coaching camp storyline on the initiating regarded on NBC Sports actions Bay Declare

SANTA CLARA — As 49ers coaching camp begins, there isn’t any controversy surrounding San Francisco‘s starting quarterback job in leisurely July for the main time in years — however the backup discipline is a wholly diversified myth

After Sam Darnold’s free company departure to the Minnesota Vikings, the undetermined quarterback heirarchy previous Brock Purdy creates a critical storyline heading into the personnel’s first coaching camp apply on Wednesday.

Joshua Dobbs and Brandon Allen — two ragged signal-callers with in actuality intensive NFL skills, enter camp competing to be San Francisco’s most indispensable lifeline in the match Purdy is forced to miss any time in the end of the 2024 season.

“They’ll retain splitting these reps to compete for the two discipline,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan stated Tuesday.

Given how Purdy has excelled since stepping on an NFL field, the rest of San Francisco’s QB room is an afterthought on the outside. A aspect dish outshined by the main route that impartial about took the 49ers to the promised land in his first elephantine season below heart.

Nonetheless, due to the most as much as the moment history, San Francisco would now not bear the sumptuous of ignoring the harsh fact that befalls NFL franchises when their starting quarterback is taken out of the picture mid-season.

The 49ers realized this lesson the laborious advance in 2020, with awful play from backup quarterbacks offsetting a audacious effort from San Francisco’s defense despite coping with a catastrophic string of injuries on all facets of the ball.

Ever since that brutal 2020 season, the 49ers bear long previous above and former to insulate their quarterback room, which proved to be a franchise-altering decision when Purdy modified into once rostered as the third-string quarterback in the end of his rookie season in 2022.

That vogue persevered in 2023 with Darnold signing a one-one year deal, and 2024 is shaping as much as supply a an identical degree of insurance in the assemble of Dobbs and/or Allen.

Dobbs made waves in the end of the 2023 NFL season, starting 12 video games between the Arizona Cardinals and Minnesota Vikings, alongside side a audacious audition for his future employer in a Week 4 examine Levi’s Stadium. While the 49ers blew the Cardinals out of the water, Dobbs valiantly fought till the pause, posting previous legitimate numbers in a sport where his personnel modified into once thoroughly outclassed from the jump.

The 29-one year-used done 27 of 41 passes for 265 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in that loss to the 49ers, adding an additional forty eight yards on the ground.

Despite Dobbs’ manufacturing cooling down as the season progressed, he demonstrated larger than adequate ability to be the extra or less quarterback that could retain an NFL personnel in a soccer sport — precisely the extra or less return on funding you hope for in a backup.

Dobbs additionally posesses one thing that suddenly boosts the stock of any backup quarterback — a speeding ground.

That formulation Dobbs’ ability to lengthen plays, take cheap yardage, and even fetch explosive plays alongside with his legs suddenly gives the 49ers’ offense hope in the match it must tread water with out Purdy. Dobbs averaged 5.47 yards per care for it up 77 speeding attempts in 2023, on par with dynamic twin-likelihood abilities enjoy Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray (5.5) and Indianapolis Colts‘ QB Anthony Richardson (5.4).

The speeding likelihood equipped by Dobbs is indispensable, because it theoretically makes it extra difficult for opposing defenses to relax in protection and take income of the pass-sport disparity with a backup on the field in discipline of a starter.

Given Dobbs most as much as the moment flee in the spotlight as a starter, or no longer it is straightforward to miss out on Allen, althought it could perchance most likely presumably also impartial no longer be wise to count the 31-one year-used out of the QB2 opponents. After spending a one year in San Francisco’s plan in the motivate of Purdy and Darnold, Allen has a leg up on Dobbs when it comes to skills in Shanahan’s intricate offense.

Allen has yet to take a frequent-season snap for the 49ers, but confirmed promising flashes in the end of the 2023 preseason that stamp he’s larger than able to distributing the ball to San Francisco’s staunch of potent offensive weapons.

Despite suffering a torn UCL, Purdy has never neglected a frequent-season originate in the end of his NFL profession, and in an good world that vogue continues uninteruppted. Nonetheless, soccer is chaos, and while that that you could presumably no longer ever completely knowing for it, you for lag can attempt.

The 49ers are loaded across the board. May perchance perhaps presumably also impartial quiet Purdy be forced to miss time in the end of the season, they don’t essentially want a quarterback to step in and get them video games — they ethical want a man who’s no longer going to lose them. Appropriate now, they’ve two viable candidates who meet that requirement.

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