Bryant McKinnie says it'll be time to start putting some serious respect on Brock Purdy's name if the QB scores a victory on Sunday ... telling TMZ Sports he'll consider the signal-caller "elite" if he's able to beat Patrick Mahomes at Super Bowl LVIII.
McKinnie -- who won an SB of his own back in the 2012 season -- said he's been impressed with what Purdy's done so far in his first two years in the league ... and if he's able to showcase it one more time in Las Vegas, the former Ravens O-lineman says BP's detractors better get their flowers ready.
"At a certain point," the ex-left tackle said, "you have to start giving him respect and credit for what he's been doing."
"Winning a Super Bowl is definitely going to put him at a different level because a lot of quarterbacks haven't won one."
McKinnie said fans will simply have no choice but to slot Purdy in their top-10 rankings if he outduels Mahomes at Allegiant Stadium.
As for if the Chiefs star gets the dub over Purdy -- McKinnie said that'll put Mahomes in some seriously rare air ... telling us the 28-year-old will be "in conversations" for a spot on the NFL's Mt. Rushmore if he gets it all done.
There's more ... McKinnie also spoke with us about his former Baltimore team, and it's not hard to see he's a bit disappointed with how the Ravens bowed out of the playoffs.
He told us he wished Lamar Jackson had used his legs more in the AFC Championship game against K.C. ... saying straight up, "if he stayed true to his game, it would have been a different outcome."
McKinnie, meanwhile, has been staying busy in retirement ... linking up with LetzChat -- a company that can translate words to different languages in real-time -- and he tells us he's stoked about its potential going forward.