The San Francisco 49ers avoided a potentially catastrophic quarterback situation when they selected QB Brock Purdy with the final pick in the 2022 NFL draft.
Former No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance got hurt in Week 2 of a crucial second season where he was to be the team’s starter, and his development track was derailed to the point it may never match up with the 49ers’ immediate timeline for contention. Purdy stepped in and right away helped solve the biggest question mark on the 49ers’ roster.
Future Pro Football Hall of Fame QB Drew Brees believes NFL teams can learn from how the Purdy situation shook out in San Francisco.
Purdy landed the QB3 job out of camp behind Lance and veteran backup Jimmy Garoppolo. The 49ers were a Super Bowl contending team coming off a trip to a second NFC championship game in three years, and boasted a loaded offense guided by one of the league’s best offensive minds in head coach Kyle Shanahan.
It was a nigh perfect situation for Purdy to step into when he took over for an injured Garoppolo in Week 13 of his rookie season. Mr. Irrelevant led the 49ers to the NFC championship game as a rookie, and then to a Super Bowl in Year 2 where they fell to the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime.
Brees told Saints Wire’s Crissy Froyd that QB-needy teams around the league should be looking toward the team-building blueprint San Francisco stumbled upon.
Via Saints Wire:
“(He just) maximized everything about what they were doing offensively in order to win these games. And he’s very cerebral,” Brees said.
There have been some issues in San Francisco that need to be fixed, but Purdy in his own right has proven he can be the quarterback of the future for the team if they can put the right type of consistent pieces in place. Every team needs to support their quarterback, but that’s even more critical for young pros like Purdy.
“So, if he gets into a situation in San Francisco where he’s got a great offense, great run scheme, great head coach and he’s got all this high level experience, that equates to success right away,” Brees said. “I think there’s a lot that can be learned from that story when you talk about how you draft guys and the situations you put them in.”
Ironically, this is also the crux of the discussion surrounding Purdy’s impending contract extension. He was outstanding in his first year-plus as a starter, but his situation was also about as good as a quarterback can ask for. That brings up questions about whether it was the QB or the situation that generated the unprecedented success for a QB who was the final pick in the draft.
The 49ers may not have done it on purpose, but it has worked well for them and all signs point toward Purdy getting a massive contract at or near the top of the QB market this offseason.
It’ll be interesting to see how teams continue building moving forward knowing how players like Purdy and Sam Darnold thrived in more ideal situations. Perhaps we reach a point where teams beginning rebuilds atop the NFL draft focus more on building a strong foundation that lowers the necessary bar for any potential franchise QB to clear.