In 2022, a quarterback from Iowa State University was drafted as the last pick to the San Francisco 49ers, deeming him the title of Mr. Irrelevant. Despite this title, this same quarterback would later have one of the most interesting and intriguing upcoming stories in NFL history.
Brock Purdy graduated from Iowa State in 2021 with impressive stats that would later help him get drafted into the NFL. Throughout his 4 seasons at ISU, Purdy threw 12,170 passing yards in which he completed 993 out of 1,467 pass attempts. This impressive passing resulted in 81 throwing touchdown passes with only 33 interceptions. Purdy’s agility also allowed for a total of 1,177 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns. In college, Purdy won many awards including the Big 12 True Freshman of the Year (ESPN 2018), PlayStation Fiesta Bowl Offensive MVP (2020), and Big 12 Sportsman of the Year (2022). These stats put him on the radar for NFL coaches, specifically Kyle Shanahan.
Moving on to Purdy’s first NFL season (2022-2023), as stated before, Purdy was drafted in 2022 as the final pick in the draft, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan taking a huge risk on him. Purdy started as a third string quarterback in 2022 behind Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo; However, after both quarterbacks received injuries Purdy was able to show his potential after relieving Garoppolo of his foot injury on December 4, 2022. After relieving the second string, Purdy was able to win the game vs. the Miami Dolphins 33-17. Purdy would go on to lead his team to victory for every 2022 regular season game that came after his initial success. Purdy only fell short in the 2022 conference game against the Philadelphia Eagles, losing 7-31, partially due to his UCL injury in the first quarter which caused the fourth string to sub him out.
Fast forwarding to the 2023-2024 season Purdy finished the regular season 12-5, first in the NFC west division. Moving on to the postseason, Purdy led his team to winning the National Football Conference title after beating the Detroit Lions 34-31. This entered the 49ers into the superbowl vs. the Kansas City Chiefs in which they lost in a close game 22-25. Despite this loss, Purdy has continued to show promising stats with an overall 68.7 completion rate, 5,654 career yards, and 44 touchdowns in his first 2 years. Purdy thanks God for his success thus.
“My identity isn’t in football, I know who I am, and [I think] ‘God, if you want me to do great with [football], great. If not, all right, let’s go do something else, wherever you need me.’ That’s allowed me to not put all this pressure on myself. It allowed me to play free. It’s allowed me to live my life and keep things simple.”
With Brock Purdy’s faith and tendency to improve, he will be a hungry player to watch for in the upcoming NFL season.