Jikkle wrote:CrimsonCrew wrote:Really interesting article in The Athletic about Purdy's cognitive ability. I'll summarize here, as I know a lot of people don't have an Athletic subscription.
Apparently in addition to the Wonderlic, they've been giving guys a test called the S2 Cognition Test since 2015 that tests how quickly individuals can take in and react to information (seemingly mostly non-verbal, like shapes, images, etc.), impulse control, etc. Purdy scored in the mid-90s, along with guys like Brees, Burrow, Mahomes, and Allen.
There's a strong correlation between a good score and success as an NFL passer (and other positions to an extent, too). Of 27 starting NFL QBs who had taken the test, 13 had ratings above 90. Those 13 players averaged a score of 91. Obviously there could be some outliers, but not many with a score that high. The 14 guys with ratings below 90 averaged in the 60s (which is still probably good for an average person, but not elite).
Of note:
As for the 49ers’ other young quarterback, Trey Lance?
Ally couldn’t reveal the exact number but said Lance “scored well.”
“He’s not in the Brock Purdy range but he didn’t score poorly,” he said.
When we talk about a QB's tools, this is the sort of thing that we never really seem to discuss. But it's every bit as important, and very likely more important, than the pure physical tools. There will never be a shortage of a big, strong guys who can throw a football. But can they throw it accurately to the right place? Jury is still out in Lance's case.
I've always said that the ability to process information is absolutely vital for a QB and it's something you either have or you don't.
Most media and fans unfortunately mix it up with overall intelligence and they are two separate things. You can be extremely smart but you still might not be able to answer a question with a gun to your head and less than 2 seconds to answer it before the trigger is pulled.
That's why when it came to Justin Fields I didn't care if he had a photographic memory because all that meant is he'd remember the exact number of the guy he threw the pick too. The question was never if Fields was intelligent but if he could quickly process information which not everyone is born with.
In the case of this S2 Cognition Test you'd really have to know who scored what to analyze just how much it contributes to a QB's success. You'd have to know who are the 13 guys that scored high and who are the 14 guys that didn't to judge how much it contributes to a QBs success.
It doesn't change the question of if Purdy's physical abilities are going to limit him in his career. Because Mahomes, Allen, and Burrow are right there with him and they are all clearly more physically gifted than he is and odds are you'll be seeing one of those guys in the Super Bowl so Purdy can't rely on being the smarter guy in those matchups.
Yeah, reaction time is hugely important in the league. A QB's ability to see things and make throws in turbulent environments is arguably the single most important thing for an NFL QB, and it's the reason that a lot of these guys have flamed out.
You're right that that was the major question with Fields. I'd be very curious about how well he scored. I think it's also something of a question for Lance, it's just harder to assess as he has so few reps in college and the pros. My view, without that information, was that Fields was the better athlete and was head-and-shoulders better throwing the ball. That's why I strongly preferred him to Lance, but there was always the caveat that it's difficult to assess some of this processing stuff from the game tape alone. And honestly, Lance has some real questions about that, too.
We'll see. Hopefully both Lance and Purdy pan out and we have a good problem on our hands. Drew Brees is a really high bar, but Purdy really was pretty remarkable as a rookie. The question is whether he can continue to develop, and can eventually carry a team when he doesn't have the best collection of skill players in the league. Obviously step one is getting over the torn UCL.
