Following a 2025 season that was characterized by injuries and lack of consistency, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has another chip on his shoulder entering 2026. Despite some flashes of above-average play last year, the former Pro Bowl quarterback clearly has more improvement to do under new 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak. In particular, Kubiak wants to see Purdy take more initiative to remain in the pocket, as opposed to relying on his ability to scramble out of the pocket and turn broken plays into big plays.
49ers OC Klay Kubiak Says Brock Purdy “Must Strive to be Better”
“He’s always got to strive to be better in the pocket,” Kubiak told Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports. “Whether that’s your footwork, your mechanics in the pocket or remaining a passer in situations where you can make a play down the field. It’s just working on pocket movement, working on ways you can move in the pocket to find throwing lanes and being more consistent in that area.”
What Kubiak is really emphasizing here is consistency in offense structure. Purdy has already shown the ability to extend plays, as well as move out of the pocket to make outside throws, but the progression in the 49ers quarterback’s game now should be about being composed inside the pocket.
Instead of moving into pressure or making plays out of the pocket before he is really supposed to, Kubiak wants to see Purdy using the pocket as the base for his throwing lanes as well as for his timing. Developing more pocket presence is only going to help the 49ers quarterback going into 2026. Defenses can no longer rely on preparing for the 49ers the same way they prepare for any other system — an element the 49ers had when Purdy first took over in San Francisco.
Injuries May Have Prohibited a Strong 2025
Purdy may shown more pocket presence if he had not had a toe injury at the very beginning of the season. It is very possible that his abilities to progress were affected because of that. Kubiak thinks that may have had something to do with it.
“There were some weird setbacks in his season that I think had to do with his injury,” Kubiak said. “He came out, had an awesome camp, had an awesome first week, then he has the injury, then he comes back from the injury, and you could tell it took him a while to kind of get back to feeling 100 percent.”
What’s also suggested by Kubiak is that the 49ers know Purdy can elevate his game even higher. That wasn’t ever really in question, in regards to his physical and creative playmaking ability; he was about evolving more as a pocket passer when the walls began to close in around him. Elite QBs don’t always escape the pocket when the walls are crashing down, sometimes they just sidestep, re-set their feet, and continues to exploit the defense vertically. If the young 49ers quarterback develops that aspect of his game, it would help bring back the flow and fire that at times left San Francisco’s offense during 2025 games.
Purdy Has Room for Improvement in 2026
For the San Francisco, that growth could ultimately determine how far this team goes in 2026. The 49ers quarterback has already proven he can win games and operate one of the league’s most demanding offenses. Now, the focus moves toward becoming a more polished pocket passer capable of delivering under pressure when defenses take away the easy options. Based on Kubiak’s comments, the organization believes that version of Purdy is still very much within reach.
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