19 dropped passes in 2024—up from 9 in 2023. A 2 percent rate now goes to 4.2 percent. Still far from the chaos the 49ers lived through in the Jimmy Garoppolo era.
One thing about Brock Purdy that has doubled in the wrong direction: his drop rate.
Around these parts, we praised how efficient Purdy looked as the 49ers’ quarterback. Especially compared to the near-comical drop rates that plagued the team before he took over. In 2023, Purdy had just nine dropped passes. That’s a huge step up, considering where the 49ers had been:
2018: 27
2019: 28
2020: 34
2021: 26
2022: 37
2023: 9
Unfortunately, we’re back in double-digits.
The 2024 total? 19. This comes from 455 attempts, taking his drop rate from 2 percent to 4.2 percent. And three of those came in the Week 3 loss to the Rams—yes, that game. One of those drops was a potential game-winner that Ronnie Bell couldn’t haul in.
We can all admit that there were a lot of problems with those drops last year. Some were inexcusable. But it’s still better than what the 49ers were dealing with in the Jimmy Garoppolo years. In 2019, the team went to the Super Bowl that year and still had 28 drops, plenty of which turned into picks—remember what argument was? “Garoppolo’s receivers weren’t helping him.” That wasn’t just noise.
It’s not great, but one thing to remember is that it’s still an improvement over what they had before. 2019 was a Super Bowl year, and they dropped 28 passes. And I don’t need to remind everyone of how some of those drops led to picks (the old defense, which can be applied here, is that Jimmy Garoppolo’s receivers were not helping him).
It’s also worth noting: across 2023 and 2024, Purdy’s combined drop total (28) is basically that 2019 season when combined.
And no, 19 drops isn’t ideal. But it’s not catastrophic either, especially considering the injuries and revolving parts on offense. In years past, 28 or 34 drops were normal, and those numbers put the 49ers near the bottom of the league.
So if the “any quarterback can do what Brock Purdy does in Shanahan’s system” argument is still floating around, let’s be real. Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle were here long before Purdy. Apparently, not just “any” quarterback can produce at this level with those weapons.