Brock Purdy is undefeated in his four starts this year, but his path to success hasn’t always been so clear cut
SANTA CLARA, California– Late in the day on April 30th of this year, San Francisco took Brock Purdy with the 262nd pick of the NFL Draft. While most people had their TVs off, the draft day was just starting for Purdy. The last pick of every draft is named Mr. Irrelevant, an award to recognize even the most forgotten players. Some players embrace the name, others take it as a backhanded compliment of sorts, either way you look at it, one thing is clear: you’re an underdog.
When Purdy was announced as the starter against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, headlines swirled about the long shot from Queen Creek, Arizona going up against the undisputed champion of the sport. How could a kid that didn’t even get the commissioner to announce his name take down a six-time Super Bowl Champion?
As crazy as it sounds, Brady and Purdy draw inspiring parallels to each other. Brady, a walk-on at the University of Michigan in 1995, was a sixth-round draft pick, just one round earlier than Purdy. Prior to being revered as one of the greatest to ever play the sport, and even before backing up Drew Bledsoe in 2000, Brady drew harsh attention from critics for his undersized frame and stature.
A couple Sundays ago, Purdy took down Brady in a 35-7 rout of the Buccaneers, cementing himself in history. Purdy didn’t simply manage the game as his teammates took the brunt of the effort, instead, he made sure that critics knew his name going 16-for-21 passing with 185 yards paired with 2 touchdowns.
If that was sheer luck, so be it.
The following week Purdy posted another eye-opening stat line on a Thursday Night Matchup against the league’s poster boy Geno Smith, another rags to riches story that enthralled the NFL community early in the season. Completing 16 of his 21 passes thrown for 217 yards, Brock and the 49ers toppled their divisional foe 21-13 in a critical matchup in the NFC West.
For a rookie to stare into the face of impending pressure, 3 teams with solid records, and to avoid everything that trips and devastates first-round draft picks much less seventh rounders is impressive.
But then again, Brock Purdy knows something about impressive.
Purdy hails from Queen Creek, Arizona, where he attended Perry High School for four years. The Pumas, an encapsulation of everything the sport is about. Grit, agility, and patience— are all applicable on the turf and Purdy himself.
“You never saw him take a day off. You never saw him take a rep off,” said Preston Jones, Purdy’s head coach at Perry.
And while Twitter was abuzz with every storyline and critical statement on that consequential December 4th afternoon when Purdy was thrust into an intimidating role helming the 49ers after starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo went down with a foot injury, Purdy knew exactly what it was going to take. Complete 67.5% of passes and sling two touchdowns to blowout the red hot Dolphins en route to a quarterback run rivalling no other.
His play drew attention from all planes of the NFL, including Rex Ryan’s praise of Purdy’s patience and poise, “I was absolutely blown away by this kid… Nobody pressures the passer the way Miami does. They send pressure like crazy. And, I mean, he was so poised.”
Out of high school Purdy wasn’t highly touted, only ranking as a humble 3-star recruit before signing to play quarterback at Iowa State. While a phenom in the Grand Canyon State, taking the Pumas to the state championship game back-to-back years in 2016 and ’17, the QB ultimately fell short both times, losing to in-state powerhouse Chandler High School. Patience.
After arriving in Ames, Brock Purdy’s path to any meaningful playing time was murky. Buried in the quarterback room beneath established passers Kyle Kempt and Zeb Noland, Purdy’s role on the team was anything but guaranteed. Patience.
By a twist of fate or destiny itself, Purdy got his shot on October 6th, 2018. Due to an injury to Kempt and Noland’s lackluster play for the Cyclones, #15 got his turn to shine. Facing a 25th ranked Oklahoma State in Stillwater, it was Purdy’s first taste of everything leading up to now. But, you are who you are, and Purdy has always been Mr. Relevant.
In dominating fashion, QB3 went from zero to hero, posting a 48-42 victory in a shootout vs. the Cowboys, throwing for 325 yards and 4 touchdowns with 19 balls completed to 25 thrown. While the world was introduced to Mr. Purdy, the quarterback has never had a single doubt that he’d be here.
When Purdy’s Niners defeated the Seattle Seahawks on a chilly Thursday Night in Seattle, topping lists for the most hostile environment in professional sports, to take the NFC West crown, Purdy shared no hesitations of what he thought his career would look like.
“I envisioned this sort of stuff happening, in terms of going and leading an NFL team down the road,” speaks Purdy donning his ‘Conquered West’ T-Shirt with 49ers faithful behind him, “I’ve always had that kind of confidence in myself.”
Purdy’s NFL journey wasn’t one of smooth sailing either, in a multitude of facets of the game. Chalk it up to the NFL’s bureaucratic nature, its elitist structure, or plenty of different factors, but that didn’t stop Purdy’s steadfast attitude from being an eager V8 ready to go.
From the getgo, the quarterback was bestowed the aforementioned namesake: ‘Mr. Irrelevant’. Whether good or bad, it didn’t matter, like many others across the nation, a dream was fulfilled. Getting your name called on draft day is a huge honor, but one could assume waiting across a span of three days and getting named irrelevant was salt in a flesh wound.
In the early 7th round, Preston Jones called Ryan Fitzpatrick, former Harvard graduate and NFL journeyman, in order to try and get Purdy some experience coming from one of the bastions of the league. Fitzpatrick said he called him and the two exchanged words on how to approach the league. Despite a strong support group, one thing was clear.
It was time to get to work, but before Purdy could even step foot in the Bay Area, it was obvious what the situation was going to be. The hierarchy of the quarterback room is a strong one, especially for a rookie quarterback with the name recognition of Brock Purdy. It was simple: Trey Lance, Jimmy Garoppolo, and then Brock Purdy.
Then, with sharp parallels to his first start against Oklahoma State, the Niners found themselves in a quarterback carousel. First, Lance goes down for the season with an ankle injury requiring surgery. Garoppolo falls, paving the way for Purdy.
Yet, through a baptism by fire, Purdy still yearns to see the silver lining in the situation, “I have so much help around me, with the veterans and leadership on this team for me to just go in and do what Kyle [Shanahan] asked of me.”
Through all the trials and tribulations, the train still hasn’t stopped rolling. With a guaranteed spot in the playoffs and a clinched home game, Purdy hasn’t taken his foot off the gas. Through 4 games played and 3 started, he’s undefeated, throwing for 912 yards and 8 touchdowns. Averaging an astonishing 228 yards per game, Purdy has yet to slip up in a game time situation, adding to his repertoire and building his NFL resume as he goes.
From the very start of it all, Purdy’s underlying theme is patience. Not often do you find a player who’s willing to go through flaming hoops with no guarantee of starting. One who’s not afraid to fail and be prepared when his time comes. While the 49ers figure out the quarterback dilemma in the offseason, it’s safe to say Purdy has wiped away the backhanded compliment that comes with the last pick, turning his moniker into an oxymoron of sorts. Mr. Irrelevant will never be so again.
