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Though the 2022 NFL season isn’t officially over just yet, folks are already declaring that the San Francisco 49ers secured the steal of the 2022 NFL draft in Brock Purdy, the four-year starter at Iowa State-turned-starting quarterback who was initially selected with pick 262.
Nicknamed Mr. Irrelevant for where he was drafted, Purdy was asked during a Thursday media session how much interest the 49ers showed in him before and during the draft and provided fans with a peak behind the curtain of the pre-draft process.
“I did a zoom meeting with Coach Griese and Klay Kubiak,” Purdy said via Sports Illustrated. “We had a zoom setup and walked through some plays from Iowa State, my story, how I think – all that kind of stuff. And then going into the last day of the draft, Kubiak and Griese called me and caught up and said, ‘Hopefully we can have the opportunity to take you today at some point.’ That was about it.”
Asked if any other teams expressed any interest in his services as the draft was winding down and undrafted free agency was rapidly approaching, Purdy responded sans any specific names.
“There were a bunch of teams calling both my agent and I that had interest and wanted to meet up and have me sign with them, so there was a list going, but there wasn’t exactly one team I was going to go to.”
Were the 49ers one of those teams?
“The 49ers were on the list,” Purdy said.
What if the 49ers didn’t draft Purdy with the final pick in the draft? Would he have still signed with the team? Or would the presence of Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo have sent the Iowa State product and his agent elsewhere? Fortunately, fans will never know, as John Lynch hit a home run at the bottom of the ninth.
Brock Purdy’s Draft Profile Looks Very Interesting in Hindsight
With Purdy discussing his pre-draft process, it’s interesting to take a step back and look at the profiles written up on the 49ers’ starting quarterback, including the definitive one on NFL.com from Lance Zierlein.
Four-year starter who was never able to improve upon a stellar sophomore campaign. Purdy is a burly pocket quarterback who needs a play-action based offense where he can rely on timing over release quickness and arm strength. He can be a confident passer when he finds his rhythm, but throwing is more of a chore than a talent thanks to a labored release. Certain areas of the field will be off limits as he moves up to take on NFL coverage talent. He’s a scrappy runner but not dynamic enough to make up for his shortcomings as a passer.
Wow, that is very interesting indeed; though the sample size is relatively small, Purdy has been a very effective down-field thrower during his run with the 49ers so far, completing four of his six passes of over 20 yards, according to Matt Barrows of The Athletic.
Josh McDaniels Respects the San Francisco 49ers’ QB1
For all of the love Purdy gets from fans in California, specifically in the Bay Area, it’s hard to really gauge how the rookie is being received from around the league. Do fans outside of the NFC West think San Francisco has miraculously found their franchise quarterback with the last pick in the seventh round? Or is this more of a 2017 Nick Foles situation where a backup quarterback is able to keep success rolling because of the strength of the team around him?
Fortunately, on an episode of One-on-One, McDaniels was asked about Purdy and gave some flowers to the 23-year-old signal caller.
He’s a mature, young guy,” McDaniels said via NBC Sports. “He was coming out, played a lot of football, and he has a presence about him and you can tell that he’s really grasped their offensive system.”
Elsewhere in the interview, McDaniels was asked about his Week 17 counterpart and complimented his ingenuity as a play-caller.
“(Kyle Shanahan)’s a creative guy,” McDaniels said. “He’s really good with the quarterback, does a lot of things that challenge you. (He) schematically gets his players to really execute at a high level. They play fast; they’re physical. They’re aggressive. They do a lot of the right things to win the game.”
Though some of his decision may draw a fair bit of criticism, with some fans never forgiving the second-generation head coach for running his quarterbacks between the tackles, it’s clear what Shanahan has been able to do after losing two signal callers to season-ending injuries has earned him quite a bit of respect from his peers, including from McDaniels, who came up as part of the Bill Belichick coaching tree.
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