Someone on Warriors twitter posed an interesting comparison: Brock Purdy and Steph Curry. Curry runs Steve Kerr’s system to a T, with discipline, setting off-ball screens with the same fight as a G-League guy. When things fall apart and the moment calls for it, Curry is capable of going off-script and boldly improvising. 40-foot pull-ups, behind-the-back crossovers, floaters at the rim. Brock Purdy has shown that against a weaker or jet-lagged defense, he can do both extremely well: play within Kyle Shanahan’s system masterfully while also extending plays and doing the “Mahomes stuff”. He finds the right answer when there is one and creates it when there isn’t. It’s early but it feels like shades of watching Steph Curry’s 2015/2016 seasons. The next three weeks will tells us a lot.
Brandin Cooks will be a nice addition. I wonder how much juice he has left but his veteran experience will be necessary to get him up-to-speed in the offense.
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49ers add veteran Brandin Cooks to reinforce ailing wide receiver corps (paywall)
“Cooks last played for the New Orleans Saints and Buffalo Bills in 2025. In 15 combined games, he caught 24 passes for 279 yards. The Stockton native is well past his prime, having last racked up 1,000-plus receiving yards with the Houston Texans in 2021. Nonetheless, Cooks was one of the most accomplished receivers on the market, ranking sixth among active players in career receiving yards (9,811), receptions (734) and receiving touchdowns (60). Cooks and Brandon Marshall are only two players in NFL history with 1,000-yard receiving seasons with four teams.”
49ers practice and media schedule ahead of Week 3 matchup vs. Cardinals
“Wednesday, September 23:
12:35 p.m. – Kyle Shanahan press conference
1:30 p.m. – Practice
Thursday, September 24:
12:45 p.m. – Practice
After practice (approx. 2:35 p.m.) – Raheem Morris press conference
Following Morris – Klay Kubiak press conference
Following Kubiak – Brock Purdy press conference
Friday, September 25:
12:35 p.m. – Practice
After practice (approx. 1:35 p.m.) – Kyle Shanahan press conference”
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49ers overreactions: Is run defense a concern for team’s 2026 NFL playoff hopes?
“The 49ers did not do a good job against the run early in the game against the Dolphins, who controlled the clock and stayed on the field for nearly two-thirds of the first half.
But the final stat sheets looked OK for the 49ers’ run defense, just as it did in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams.
The 49ers faced 58 rushing attempts in two games and gave up just 3.9 yards per rushing attempt.”
49ers game review: Kyle Shanahan still stressed about one area after blowout win (paywall)
“[CJ] West’s run-defense grade (26.4) ranks last among the 135 defensive interior linemen who have played at least 15 snaps against the run, according to Pro Football Focus’ grading system. On Sunday, early in the second quarter, West received the rag doll treatment on back-to-back plays.
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First, on a replay of Jaylen Wright’s 8-yard run over right guard on 2nd-and-10 from the 49ers’ 17, Johnston used his telestrator to alert fans about what happened to West: Center Aaron Brewer got leverage on West, turned him to the side and planted him on his back deep in the backfield.
The next play, Wright’s 3-yard, up-the-middle run on 3rd-and-2: Brewer and left guard Kaden Proctor had a combo block on West before Proctor peeled off and Brewer drove West 5 yards downfield, a play that, again, ended with West looking up at the sky.”
49ers report card: The offense is exceeding expectations because of Brock Purdy
“Luke Farrell didn’t get enough credit for how well he blocked in Week 1.
Farrell and George Kittle played the same number of snaps in Week 2. Only one of these players was targeted. It was good to see Kittle still has enough burst to run away from safeties. He stiff-armed the poor rookie safety.
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Kittle benefited from a couple of coverage busts, but this group blocked well again….Trent Williams is amazing and seems to be inventing new techniques. As always, he brings up the grade.
It’s rare to see somebody get the best of Williams, but that happened in pass protection. It was somewhat mesmerizing to see Williams off balance on a play.
The pressures were low, but Miami won enough times to make Purdy move or at least stand tall in the face of pressure.
Overall, the offensive line was good. But probably not good enough for an opponent like the Broncos or Seahawks…..Romello Height’s sack should have an asterisk next to it since Bosa was the one who made Malik Willis run for his life. Bosa pressured Willis on 27.8% of his dropbacks. Bosa continues to impress as a run defender, though he missed a couple of tackles.
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Keion White keeps finding ways to be disruptive. The roughing-the-passer call on White was comically bad. He was penalized on third down for tackling. White’s getting the opportunity to play inside, and he’s flashing a couple of times a game. That’s what the 49ers need.
CJ West has been this close to making plays two weeks in a row. For whatever reason, he’s missing the tackle at the point of attack. It’s hard to explain. West wins. He’s there. Then the running back slips out of his grasp. Don’t be surprised to see West start finishing those plays.
But you can’t ignore the plays where West and James Thompson Jr. get blown off the ball. That’s been consistent two weeks in a row now. It’s why this group didn’t get an A. Osa Odighizuwa competes, but he also gets moved. Odighizuwa makes up for it by pressuring the quarterback, something Thompson and West have not done.
The star of this group was Gracen Halton…”
Read the full article here