49ers' Brandon Aiyuk 'Loving Playing with' Brock Purdy: 'He Plays with That Swag'

Entering the 2022 season, no one would have expected Brock Purdy to ever ascend to the role of starting quarterback in the NFL.

Not even one year later, and the last pick in the 2022 draft is in full command of the San Francisco 49ers offense following the team's trade of Trey Lance to the Dallas Cowboys and Jimmy Garoppolo's departure to the Las Vegas Raiders.

After undergoing elbow surgery during the offseason, Purdy has returned to the top of his game in 2023 after taking over as San Francisco's starter for the final five games of the 2022 regular season and the playoffs.

In a 30-7 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Purdy completed 19 of 29 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns, in addition to rushing for 20 yards on three carries. His top target was veteran wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who caught eight passes for 129 yards and two scores.

Speaking on KNBR's Murph and Mac show (h/t David Bonilla of 49ers Webzone) on Tuesday, Aiyuk described what it's like to play with the Iowa State product:

"Purdy, I'm enjoying playing with him. He gives us confidence every single week. He gives us a bunch of confidence. So much confidence going in every game that not only are we going to win the game, but you have a chance to have a great game as well. So I'm loving playing with him."

"I'm not sure I can even define what 'it' is, but he has 'it.'"

Aiyuk added:

"He plays with an extreme poise, but also poise and urgency. It's like a mix of poise and urgency. He's never too lagged. He's just always on point. He's on point. He's ready to go. He plays with that swag that just bleeds all the way down to the rest of the offense, down to the rest of the team, that everybody can build off. Like I said, he has 'it.'"

Aiyuk and Purdy began developing their connection during the final five games of the 2022 season. The wide receiver caught 22 passes for 317 yards and two touchdowns on 31 targets to close out the year. In three playoff games, he caught six of 10 passes for 109 yards.

Given how Aiyuk excelled in Week 1, he figures to be a significant factor for San Francisco moving forward and could even post his second consecutive 1,000-plus yard receiving season.

Aiyuk and Purdy will look to keep the momentum going in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Rams.