Malik Willis- proof that you can't take any athletic QB with a great arm and

[MightyGiants]

No doubt the 9ers made a huge mistake on Lance. Colossal given what they gave up to get him.

Clearly they got lucky on Purdy to a large degree. I mean credit them for picking him, but clearly if they thought he was going to be even decent they wouldn't have waited until the 7th round.

This is a great point that I have heard some of the smarter NFL people make.  Sure it's a credit to find a diamond in the rough like Tom Brady in the 6th or (not comparing him to Tom) Purdy in the 7th, but it's pretty clear the team didn't think what happened was likely to happen (or perhaps could happen) or as you said they wouldn't have risked losing him and taking the player so low in the draft.

[DaveBrown74]

This is a great point that I have heard some of the smarter NFL people make.  Sure it's a credit to find a diamond in the rough like Tom Brady in the 6th or (not comparing him to Tom) Purdy in the 7th, but it's pretty clear the team didn't think what happened was likely to happen (or perhaps could happen) or as you said they wouldn't have risked losing him and taking the player so low in the draft.

Precisely. People have to remember that, while yes, everyone else in the NFL passed on Purdy except the 9ers, the 9ers themselves passed on him through round six. Which by definition means they didn't think all that highly of him. I think it's fair to say they got very lucky, although they need to be given some element of credit for being the ones to finally take him. Also, their player development process surely deserves some credit too (even though they failed with Trey Lance).

[Philosophers]

The QB position is first and foremost about mental processing speed to understand a D formation quickly, then during the play, to see the field and coverages and process where to throw it.

Everything else is secondary IMHO.  All the great QBs have the mental skills and most have the arm.  The bad QBs may have the arm but dont have the mental quick processing skills.

[MightyGiants]

I agree with those who talk about the importance of processing speed.  Teams can use various tests to measure how "fast" a QB's brain works.  Unfortunately, unlike the Combine, fans do not have access to this data.   I believe it's pretty difficult to properly assess processing speed just by watching tape.

[spiderblue43]

The QB position is first and foremost about mental processing speed to understand a D formation quickly, then during the play, to see the field and coverages and process where to throw it.

Everything else is secondary IMHO.  All the great QBs have the mental skills and most have the arm.  The bad QBs may have the arm but dont have the mental quick processing skills.

See Jeff George and Jay Cutler as two highly gifted,arms who couldn't process or have any leadership skills too.

[uconnjack8]

Tonight's game has a lot to do with recent bias. 

In 2018, The athletic QB with the big arm was the one to take.