WWhen teams were selecting the NFL stars of the future in the 2022 draft, no one wanted to go near Brock Purdy — and it was hard to blame them. He had a good college career at Iowa State, but the scouting reports hardly screamed The Next Tom Brady: “throwing is more of a chore than a talent,” “lacks speed,” “a sloppy runner but not dynamic,” “shuns tight end throws”. At least Purdy was consistent: By the sport’s strict standards, he seemed to be bad at everything.
But Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers, known as one of the best offensive head coaches in the NFL, was impressed with Purdy’s college tape and selected him with the 262nd – and final – pick of the draft, a position that Elk year earns one player the nickname ‘Mr Irrelevant’ and much ridicule on social media.
When Purdy showed up for the 49ers’ summer training camp, there was some question as to whether he would even make the roster: He was their fourth-choice quarterback — most teams only have three — and it wouldn’t have been a surprise if he got back on track. was work. for his family’s hot tub business in Arizona before the season arrived. But he did make it and last year, in his rookie season, strange things happened.
First, the team’s starter, Trey Lance, whose speed and strength made him a star quarterback on paper, went down with an injury. Then backup Jimmy Garoppolo, whose movie star looks made him look like a star quarterback on camera, was also injured. In a curled-up Purdy who, at his best, looked like someone who might not embarrass himself. But he promptly led the 49ers to seven straight wins and their season only ended when he was injured in the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles, who later played the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
The unexpected success has not gone to Purdy’s head. Friends from high school told ESPN this week that as a teenager he was “serious, mature and passionate about school and faith.” He seems to be the same old soul now: He drives a beat-up Toyota and shares an apartment with a teammate to save money in the Bay Area, where rent can be pathetic even if you make six figures. (Purdy will probably find his own place when he gets married next month.)
This season, he won the starting job for good — San Francisco trusted him enough to trade Lance and Garoppolo to other teams after toying with the idea of luring Brady out of retirement — and he’s played one game better than last season. who led the 49ers to Sunday’s Super Bowl.
Purdy’s detractors say that if he seems ordinary, that’s because he is. They would like you to believe that his success is the result of circumstance and not talent. He is surrounded by brilliant players on offense such as running back Christian McCaffrey, wide receiver Deebo Samuel, tight end George Kittle and offensive tackle Trent Williams, who are among the best in the league at their respective positions. Plus, Purdy is close to the league minimum salary because no one expects much from him coming out of college, meaning the 49ers can afford to sign big names elsewhere on the roster.
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But all of this is a disservice to the 24-year-old: the 49ers are much better with him than they were with Lance and Garoppolo, and while he doesn’t excel in any specific skill set, he does them all quite well, and he can do them. execute every play Shanahan sets up for him as designed (something that can’t be said for every quarterback in the league).
This season, Purdy led the league in passer rating, attempts of 20 or more yards, and threw the third-most touchdowns. There’s also a bit of a gambler in the cash-strapped Purdy: he’s guaranteed to make at least one wildly inadvisable roll in a game that ends either in triumph or disaster. And despite his lack of quickness, he can drive the ball, which he did several times against the Detroit Lions last month as the 49ers booked their spot in the Super Bowl.
“People may overlook you or may not think that you are the biggest, the fastest and the strongest,” Purdy said this week. “But if you believe in yourself and you think you have what it takes and you really believe that and you don’t give up, then you can achieve it.”
Purdy’s apparent ordinariness is made even more striking by where he plays and who he faces on Sunday. The golden age of the 49ers stretched from the 1980s to the mid-1990s, when they were led by two of the best quarterbacks in history, Joe Montana and Steve Young. Purdy carries that burden in Las Vegas, where he faces Patrick Mahomes, perhaps the most talented quarterback in history, whose success seems as effortless as Purdy’s seems hard-earned, and he hopes to win his third championship in five years to win.
On the other hand, Mahomes himself was one of the few people Purdy didn’t underestimate coming out of college.
“I’ve watched Brock play since college, I knew how good he was,” Mahomes said. “So I wasn’t very surprised that he had the success that he had because he’s a winner and he’s a guy who goes out and competes. I’ve always said, more than a footballer, you have to be someone.” who competes, and he’s always been one of those guys.