The San Francisco 49ers actually did not plan to select a quarterback in the draft before the 2022 season. Nevertheless, they decided to take Brock Purdy – a lucky move at position 262.
The clock was ticking down relentlessly, there were only a few minutes left until the San Francisco 49ers had to declare which player they would select with the last pick of the entire National Football League (NFL) draft at the end of April 2022. Head coach Kyle Shanahan clearly had one player in his sights: quarterback Brock Purdy.
The 49ers had assessed the young quarterback as a player worth taking in the fourth round. And until shortly before the end of the seventh round, no team had made a move, only the 49ers still had a pick. But the team didn’t actually need another playmaker.
Already two good quarterbacks under contract
The 49ers had selected Trey Lance as the third player in the entire draft the year before. And with Jimmy Garoppolo, the team had reached the Super Bowl just 15 months earlier. However, they lost 20:31 against the Kansas City Chiefs, who are their opponents again on Monday night (12:30 a.m. CET).
But encouraged by John York, the team’s co-chairman, Shanahan prevailed against the resistance of other people in the so-called “war room” – where all information about the players in question is collected and evaluated.
San Francisco secured the services of the quarterback with the 262nd and last pick in the draft. Purdy was therefore “Mr. Irrelevant”, as the last player selected in the draft is traditionally called. The designation comes from the fact that the last pick almost never has a notable NFL career. With Purdy, however, things are completely different. Looking back, Shanahan told probably the most renowned football reporter, Peter King, last week that he was “thankful to God” that the decision came that way.
Extremely good game overview
Purdy is neither considered a particularly good athlete nor does he have the best throwing arm. But according to Shanahan, he has “a God-given quality: game overview.” In addition, his quarterback is one of the “most confident and humble people I’ve ever been around.”
And Purdy is quick-witted to boot. After former quarterback Cam Newton complained that Purdy was only the 10th best player on the 49ers, Purdy replied: “Cam may be right about that. But I know there are over 90 quarterbacks (including backup players, author’s note) in the NFL exists. And Cam is not one of them.”
He was alluding to the fact that Newton has been trying unsuccessfully to find a team again for two years. Eight years ago he led the Carolina Panthers to the Super Bowl, but lost 10:24 to the Denver Broncos with quarterback legend Peyton Manning.
Initially just quarterback number three
In the training camp before the 2022 season, Purdy showed very good signs. Shanahan told him after a week that Purdy was better than Lance and Garoppolo, recalls CEO Jed York. But neither he nor his head coach thought at the time how quickly Purdy would have to prove himself. Lance was injured in the game in week two, followed by Garoppolo in week 13. Both were out for the rest of the season.
The 49ers went into the game against the Miami Dolphins with eight wins and three losses. Purdy immediately impressed as a quarterback and San Francisco won 33:17. Purdy also led his team to victory in the remaining five games of the regular season as well as in the home games in the playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks and the Dallas Cowboys.
But then the shock: In the semi-final against the Philadelphia Eagles, Purdy tore a ligament in his right elbow in the first quarter of the game. In the end, San Francisco lost 7:31 – also because Purdy’s replacement Josh Johnson was also out with a concussion.