Getty San Francisco 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens isn’t the biggest household name in the NFL. After all, his start against the Oakland Raiders on Thursday Night Football in Week 9 marked the first of his NFL career. Apparently, he’s so unknown around the league, that the undrafted free agent wasn’t even verified on Twitter.
That is until he started picking apart the Raiders secondary. As ESPN’s Nick Wagoner revealed, Mullens actually got verified on Twitter during the team’s game. Yes, while he was on the field.
#49ers QB Nick Mullens is having such a big night that he just got verified on Twitter. During the game.
It took less than two quarters for Mullens to make his presence felt for the 49ers. After the team fell behind 3-0, Mullens connected with Pierre Garcon on a 24-yard touchdown pass to go up 7-3. The team hasn’t looked back since that point, as the second-year undrafted free agent threw his second touchdown pass early in the second quarter to Kendrick Bourne.
At the time this is being written, Mullens has completed 15-of-21 passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns (the third to tight end George Kittle) early in the fourth quarter.
Nick Mullens’ History and Future Opportunity
The 23-year-old posted impressive numbers during his four-year career at Southern Mississippi. Mullens threw for 11,994 yards and 87 touchdowns and was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year. During that season, he threw for 4,476 yards, 38 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 63.5 percent of his passes.
Arguably the most interesting part moving forward will be how the 49ers opt to approach the quarterback position. While Jimmy Garoppolo is out for the year, the win Thursday night would move the team to just 2-7 on the year. C.J. Beathard has shown glimpses of upside, but Mullens has looked strong.
There’s certainly an argument to be made that the 49ers should let Mullens start moving forward to see what type of NFL player he has the potential to become.
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