Jordan Mason looks prepared to play larger role in taking pressure off Brock Purdy as he nears 49ers record
Brock Purdy has excelled with a lot on his plate so far in 2024. The San Francisco 49ers quarterback is playing some of the best football of his career, doing so with Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey still on the sideline with an Achilles injury and the remaining cast of offensive All-Pros not […]
Brock Purdy has excelled with a lot on his plate so far in 2024. The San Francisco 49ers quarterback is playing some of the best football of his career, doing so with Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey still on the sideline with an Achilles injury and the remaining cast of offensive All-Pros not yet firing on all cylinders.
Purdy is third in Expected Points Added per play, a familiar position for a Kyle Shanahan quarterback, but the manner in which that production has come is alien to what the football world has come to expect from quarterbacks under the tutelage of the 49ers head coach.
Per NextGen Stats (h/t Ben Solak of ESPN), only 25 percent of Purdy's passing yards have come after the catch, which would be the lowest single-season mark since 2006. He is averaging 10.7 intended air yards per attempt and 9.9 completed air yards. Purdy's completion percentage over expected of 8 is tied for the highest in the NFL with Jayden Daniels, who is averaging 6 intended air yards and 4.3 completed air yards.
In other words, Purdy has been the most accurate quarterback in the NFL while attempting the toughest throws, with the difficulty level ratcheted up by the fact he has faced pressure on 40.3 percent of his dropbacks, per Sports Info Solutions, the fourth-highest rate in the NFL.
Put simply, Purdy is thriving despite the absence of the easy button that McCaffrey provided in the passing game.
He has, however, been ably supported by a run game that has continued to punish defenses without McCaffrey.
Jordan Mason is second in the NFL in rushing with 447 yards. He has three 100-yard games in the first four weeks of the season. Should he record another in the 49ers’ Week 5 meeting with the Arizona Cardinals, he will become the first player in franchise history to have four such performances in the opening five games of a season.
But as impressive as Mason’s 100-yard showing in last week’s win over the New England Patriots was, arguably more promising was his limited action as receiver.
The former undrafted free agent found the endzone as a pass-catcher, only to see a 38-yard catch and run called back. However that play provided the clearest indication yet that Mason could provide a consistent safety net in the passing game out of the backfield.
Mason displayed impressive fluidity as he broke his route back over the middle of the field, gaining significant separation from the covering linebacker before making a strong hands catch and breaking a tackle en route to the endzone. Sadly, the score was chalked off by a dubious holding call on George Kittle.
Even with that disappointment, Mason still finished with 37 yards on two catches, by far his best showing of the season so far as a pass-catcher.
Following that effort, his receiving numbers make for encouraging reading. Mason has caught six of his seven targets for 57 yards, with five going for a first down.
Passes thrown at Mason this season have a 71.4 percent success rate, albeit over a small sample size.
It is unrealistic to expect Mason to emulate McCaffrey’s remarkable impact in the passing game, but Purdy has seen enough to be optimistic the 49ers’ unexpected lead back can have more of an influence in that area.
“I think he’s got just good skills with seeing the defense and a good feel,” Purdy said on Thursday of Mason’s receiving abilities.
“So, when he is running these choice routes and stuff from the backfield he understands where the quarterback needs to put the ball. And then from there he’s able to make plays, man. Obviously, he’s great with shedding tackles and making plays after the catch and the YAC that comes with it. So, he’s got a lot of potential with it.
“We’ve just got to continue to grow in that area together and give him some opportunities. But from what we’ve done so far, even dating back to last year, he’s made some catches and stuff last year out of the backfield as well. And so I’m really happy for him and I know that we still have to continue to get better together.
“You can draw up a play on paper, but when everything is live and it’s going full speed against another defense and stuff, there’s another component of understanding where you need to be and how you need to run your route based off of leverage and all those kinds of things. And especially as a running back coming out of the backfield, that’s such a big thing.
"Obviously, Christian is probably the best in the league to do it and so for JP to jump in those shoes and try it out and feel it out, he’s done a great job. And it’s not easy. We’ve seen some running backs where you really can’t do that kind of stuff, we’ve seen that practice and stuff, because it’s hard for them to read defenses and all that.
“But JP’s got a great feel, he’s a natural and he’s got great hands. You have to be able to catch the ball smoothly and transition and he does that really well. So I’m excited to see what we can do with him.”
If and when McCaffrey does return from Achilles tendinitis, he will take some of the burden off Purdy and give him more of the easy answers that have often been absent from the 49er passing game this year.
In the meantime, though, Mason is showing more signs of emerging as a potent checkdown option who could lessen the need for Purdy to play the game at such a high level of difficulty.
Purdy's success in thriving in these circumstances is serving as a compelling retort to those who doubted him even after a Super Bowl season in 2023. Still, the San Francisco signal-caller will likely be extremely thankful if Mason can continue to grow into a receiving target who can allow Purdy to attempt a few more high-percentage throws without sacrificing the efficiency that has defined his 49er career.
49ers left to compromise after NFL rules prevent their plan to deal with extreme heat in Cardinals game
It’s an added challenge to deal with.
