Brock Purdy, Mr. Reliable, is player 49ers can count on most

The 49ers‘ star power can make it easy to forget what has been the franchise’s ultimate steadying force: the quarterback position since Brock Purdy’s arrival.He isn’t known as Mr.Irrelevant anymore.He’s Mr.

Reliable.And he’s just one reason why the quarterback room is the place where head coach Kyle Shanahan should have the fewest concerns as their season opener against the Rams approaches.Here’s how all the 49ers’ position groups stack up in terms of confidence:The 49ers are 33-16 when Purdy is under center in the regular season, plus more playoff wins than any San Francisco QB besides Joe Montana or Steve Young.Since becoming the full-time starter in 2023, only two other quarterbacks have a better QBR than Purdy (103.5).How much of Purdy’s success is a product of Shanahan’s offensive system is up for debate, but this isn’t: The turf toe that caused him to miss eight games last season has subsided, he has looked phenomenal in training camp and his backup, Mac Jones, is better than a handful of other teams’ starting quarterbacks.If Purdy is the perfect fit to captain Shanahan’s system, then Christian McCaffrey is the engine that makes it hum.

No player in the NFL makes a more profound impact on the game than McCaffrey, who led the league in touches last season for the third time in his career.One problem: The previous two seasons that followed McCaffrey’s other most prolific outputs, he combined to play just seven of a possible 33 games because of injuries.In the case that history repeats itself, at least the Niners are well positioned with recent draft picks Jordan James and Kaelon Black looking promising, another NFL-caliber runner in Sincere McCormick stashed on the practice squad and, of course, trusty fullback Kyle Juszczyk going for his 10th consecutive Pro Bowl nod.But the fear of McCaffrey pulling up limp will live in the back of their minds all season.Up and down the roster, the 49ers are in a better spot than where they were w...