Owning the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, the 49ers elected to make Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy this year’s edition of ‘Mr. Irrelevant.’
The San Francisco 49ers have had a good track record of finding late-round gems in the NFL Draft, including the 2021 sixth-round selection of running back Elijah Mitchell, who set a franchise rookie record with 963 rush yards a season ago.
This year, the Niners hope their final pick of the 2022 draft will have the kind of impact that results in him sticking around for a while.
Essentially doing more than just being known as “Mr. Irrelevant,” the honorary final pick of every year’s NFL Draft class.
Although earning that accolade at least is guaranteed to get more early attention than some of San Francisco’s other day-three draft picks, particularly in the interim until proven otherwise.
49ers make Iowa State QB Brock Purdy ‘Mr. Irrelevant,’ final pick of 2022 NFL Draft
With the 262nd pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, the 49ers selected Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy as the final selection from the three-day event in Las Vegas, Nevada.
| Passing | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | AY/A | TD | Int | Rate |
| *2018 | Iowa State | Big 12 | FR | QB | 10 | 146 | 220 | 66.4 | 2250 | 10.2 | 10.3 | 16 | 7 | 169.9 |
| *2019 | Iowa State | Big 12 | SO | QB | 13 | 312 | 475 | 65.7 | 3982 | 8.4 | 8.7 | 27 | 9 | 151.1 |
| *2020 | Iowa State | Big 12 | JR | QB | 12 | 243 | 365 | 66.6 | 2750 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 19 | 9 | 142.1 |
| *2021 | Iowa State | Big 12 | SR | QB | 13 | 292 | 407 | 71.7 | 3188 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 19 | 8 | 149.0 |
| Career | Iowa State | 993 | 1467 | 67.7 | 12170 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 81 | 33 | 151.1 |
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference
Generated 4/30/2022.
Purdy wasn’t exactly viewed as a top option in an otherwise weak quarterbacking class this year, so there shouldn’t be any hot takeaways about him suddenly threatening second-year signal-caller Trey Lance‘s hopes of starting in 2022.
However, with uncertainty surrounding quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo‘s future, there’s a chance Purdy could be competing with fellow veteran Nate Sudfeld for the QB3 role on the roster.
Read More: Which players did the Niners take in the 2022 NFL Draft?
Garoppolo could be gone by Week 1, and his offseason shoulder surgery means he won’t be throwing a football until training camp anyway. So, getting one of those back-end quarterbacks to manage the third-string unit makes a little bit of sense.
Either way, it’s the last pick of the 2022 draft. And if the Niners decided to return to the theory of drafting a quarterback every year, at least Purdy could make things interesting during offseason programs.