Steve Young says 49ers set at QB with Brock Purdy

So who's right? Is it the critics who only focus on where he was drafted? Is it those defending Purdy? Or is it the former quarterback and ESPN analyst who believes the 49ers may have found their guy after all these years?

Young appeared on "The Dan Patrick Show" on Monday, and during the conversation, Dan Patrick asked Young if the 49ers are set at quarterback with Purdy. Young responded, "I mean, how can you say no at this point? It's unbelievable to me that the game has always been a processing game, Dan. I mean, and you've got an elite processor, 23-year-old elite processor, and you watch it every weekend."

When Patrick asked how you know when you have that elite processor, Young answered, "I always call it, it's like Star Wars. I always say it's the force. You know, when Obi-Wan Kenobi turns to Luke Skywalker, says, 'You have the force', and everyone goes, 'Well, what is that?' Because it's indescribable. It's this thing that we just talked about, the brain and the ability and the anticipation, the timing and the sense, and it's like a guile. And that's why I say it's the force. Like the kid has the force."

Purdy is an elite processor. He sees things, goes through his reads, and makes decisions very quickly for someone his age. And when he makes his decision, he's gutsy enough to make throws that separate him from previous 49ers QBs who sometimes were hesitant to pull the trigger in certain situations. Case in point, the touchdown pass to Brandon Aiyuk on Thursday night in Seattle. The wide receiver was surrounded by defenders, but Purdy fit the ball in exactly where it needed to be.

Kyle Shanahan admitted he wasn't sure it was the right decision, and was holding his breath until the throw convinced everyone that it was the right decision.

Young said "the force" is sometimes hard to discern, and is one reason why Purdy was barely drafted. "Why did he get drafted the last guy in the draft? Because the force is hard to judge," Young said. "You're just not sure. And look, I always say that even Brock doesn't know it until he does it. And then it's a revelation for everybody. And that's true for anyone in the NFL. It all comes to you because you can say, 'Oh, I'm great. I know I can do it.' Not really until you do it."

Young added that Purdy has to be an elite processor because he doesn't have the arm talent to process things slowly and then release the ball too late. Whereas other guys with greater physical tools can be late in their decision-making and still get the ball where it needs to go on time. Because Purdy may not possess those skills, he has to make his decisions quickly. Young said that in the three losses, there were times that didn't work out for Purdy and that he is going to have to continue doing it this way and will need to do it this way coming from behind.

Although Purdy put his team in position to win a come-from-behind game in Cleveland last month, a Jake Moody missed field goal prevented that from happening. But it's hard to blame Purdy for not having any comeback victories yet. His team is rarely behind.