Eagles DC Jonathan Gannon praises 49ers’ Brock Purdy

Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon is taking San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback Brock Purdy seriously ahead of Sunday’s NFC Championship Game. 

“He plays extremely fast,” Gannon said of Purdy on Tuesday, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. “He knows where to put his eyes. He gets out of trouble at a pretty good clip, and what I mean by that, you see some free runners or the pocket breakdown and guys have a hard time getting him on the ground. He doesn’t take a lot of sacks, but he makes quick decisions, he’s accurate, he gets the ball out of his hand.” 

Purdy, the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, went a perfect 5-0 in starts after replacing the injured Jimmy Garoppolo through the end of the regular season and then guided the 49ers to playoff wins over the Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys. According to ESPN, the 23-year-old took only three sacks in his first eight quarters of NFL postseason action. To compare, the Philadelphia defense sacked New York Giants signal-caller Daniel Jones five times in this past Saturday’s 38-7 blowout win. 

Gannon noted that San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan “knows how to coach the quarterback of what they’re trying to get done with certain plays” but also added the Eagles have somewhat of a secret weapon on their staff. Philadelphia assistant defensive backs coach D.K. McDonald spent five seasons with the Iowa State Cyclones and was with the program during a portion of Purdy’s collegiate career. 

Purdy somewhat came back to earth from a meteoric rise when he completed 19 of 29 pass attempts for 214 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions against Dallas. He will now face an Eagles team that, as mentioned by ESPN, allowed a league-best 179.8 passing yards per game during the regular season.

Meanwhile, Gannon is a top head-coaching candidate and has been linked with at least the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals. This Sunday’s encounter could prove to be his final chance to impress would-be employers outside of interviews.