49ers NFL Draft 2022: Deep dive into ‘Mr. Irrelevant,’ Brock Purdy

Does San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy deserve his ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ nickname, or will he play an important backup role for the Niners this season?

Simply based on the name, casual fans think of the title “Mr. Irrelevant” — the nickname given to the final selection of each NFL Draft — as one with a negative connotation.

However, nothing could be further from the truth. When the final selection of each draft is announced, every remaining potential draftee is praying for his phone to ring and his name to be called.

While San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy‘s new nickname sounds a bit cruel, it is actually a badge of honor for a player who has dedicated the majority of his life to that moment when he was chosen to play on football’s ultimate stage. And along with a few NFL perks, comes a level of publicity this year’s immediately prior NFL Draft selection, Michigan State tackle A.K. Arcuri, will never receive.

During his post-draft press conference, Purdy made it clear he is taking his infamous nickname in stride:

"For me, I’m looking at it as an opportunity. A team believed in me and now I get my opportunity to go and play football. That’s what I want my career to be, my job to be. Now I have the opportunity to do so. That’s how I’m looking at it. From the outside, yeah, I guess it’s a funny thing. I’ll embrace the role and have fun with it, for sure, but at the end of the day, I’m trying to help a team win a Super Bowl. That’s where my mindset is at with it."

Forever the NFL underdog, Purdy became an immediate fan favorite. But with fans across the league rooting for his success, does Purdy have what it takes to become a starting quarterback at the professional level? And with two starting QBs, Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, currently on the 49ers’ roster, will the Iowa State product receive ample opportunity to prove his relevancy?

Let’s take a bigger look.

Why did the 49ers draft QB Brock Purdy?

The four-year starter from Iowa state arrives with college accolades. Over his prolific, four-season college career, Brock Purdy threw for over 12,000 passing yards and 81 touchdowns and added an additional 1,177 rushing yards and 19 scores on the ground. He is also considered a leader and a positive presence in the locker room.

However, Purdy didn’t show significant progress on the playing field throughout his college tenure. Instead, he regressed statistically, faced heavy criticism and was even benched mid-game after throwing three interceptions during an early matchup against Iowa last year:

Provided by CFB at Sports Reference

During their post-draft press conference, general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t provide glowing endorsements for the rookie. Purdy’s experience was a common theme, and Shanahan admitted he had no interaction with the quarterback prior to the draft:

"…we’re excited. He started a ton of games at Iowa State, really helped influence a culture change there and played a lot of good football for them. –John Lynch"

"I didn’t have any interaction with him…I had [quarterbacks coach] Brian [Griese] and [assistant quarterbacks coach] Klay [Kubiak], Griese and Kubiak get on that the last couple months…I mean, the guy has played a lot of football, plays the game the right way, is extremely tough, gets the ball to the right spot, plays very well in the pocket and a guy who can come in here and help fill out this roster and give himself a chance to make a team. –Kyle Shanahan"

Learning the once-nicknamed “quarterback whisperer” didn’t make the effort to speak with his potential new quarterback, we can conclude with relative certainty Purdy faces an uphill battle, and will need to impress before becoming one of “Shanahan’s guys.”

Or, more harshly put, Purdy won’t be in the market to purchase a Bay Area residence any time soon.

Despite describing him as relevant, the duo appears to consider Purdy just another warm camp body. However, if the team trades Jimmy Garoppolo, Purdy would be thrust into a competition for the 49ers’ backup quarterback role, an important position given the Niners’ offensive line situation and Trey Lance’s propensity to scramble and take big hits from opposing defenders.

How would the youngster fare in a competition against career backup quarterback Nate Sudfield? And would the Niners dare enter the season with two quarterbacks with little-to-no professional experience?

Why wasn’t Mr. Irrelevant drafted before the final pick?

Brock Purdy’s physical measurables are abnormal for any NFL prospect, and particularly one at the quarterback position, as reflected in the QB’s MockDraftable.com spider diagram:

Purdy’s height is below the NFL quarterback standard of 6-foot-2, but even more problematic is his arm length and wingspan are short for a player of his height. This combination of physical deficiencies puts Purdy in an unfortunate and very exclusive group of quarterbacks in the NFL.

He also ranks near the bottom of the league in weight, vertical jump and hand size, but at least his 40-time is close to average among NFL QBs, and similar to that of fellow mobile quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

The one glaring outlier is Purdy’s elite 10-yard-split time, which is one of the best marks among all NFL quarterbacks. Purdy, who is allegedly quicker than the average pro cornerback, made good use of this talent in college by successfully avoiding free rushers and finding a way to slip out of seemingly impossible situations.

Kyle Shanahan was correct when he stated Purdy, “plays very well in the pocket,” but only when it is crystal clean. As a rhythm passer, the quarterback showed amazing touch and anticipation on intermediate routes, despite lacking the quick release of a quarterback built to target the short and middle third of the field, between the numbers. Like many young mobile quarterbacks, Purdy wants to exit the pocket at the first flash of a defensive jersey or potential sign of danger, which he is sure to experience regularly behind the 49ers’ porous offensive line.

As Shanahan strongly implied, the Niners drafted Purdy for his ability to execute between the tackles, where he generally demonstrated solid mechanics and was accurate as he often targeted his cadre of tight ends and H-backs.

He primarily played in shotgun or pistol formations, so taking snaps under center will be an area he will need to address over the offseason.

49ers expectations for rookie QB Brock Purdy

Brock Purdy is more efficient in the pocket, but he’s quite dangerous on the run – for both the offense and the defense. He often suffers from inconsistency and inaccuracy when he throws from outside the pocket where he also tends to make his worst decisions. Purdy will need to clean up that part of his game over the next few months.

One thing he doesn’t lack is excitement as soon as he decides to leave the pocket.

Although his preference is to run, Purdy is capable of either flinging a perfect off-balanced pass to a double-covered receiver as he takes a big hit, throwing a pass directly at a defender or simply tossing the football up in the air in the general direction of a covered receiver.

But when the wannabe gunslinger and Brett Farve fan gets into a groove, it’s easy to see how he racked up 100 total touchdowns at Iowa State, 19 of them on the ground.

Read More: 3 post-draft moves the San Francisco 49ers need to make

However, if Mr. Irrelevant unfortunately lives up to his name, it won’t be due to his poor decisions or his flurry of interceptable passes.

Purdy simply doesn’t have an NFL-caliber arm.

As Keith Sanchez of The Draft Network cruelly stated in his pre-draft review of the Iowa State project, “Purdy lacks the natural arm strength to throw an accurate pass 30-plus yards down the field.” While Sanchez’s comment is a bit of an exaggeration, it’s not far from the truth, as demonstrated in this potential touchdown-turned-interception.

Given his character and leadership qualities, and his history of making highlight-caliber plays, Purdy has the ability to grow into the type of backup quarterback NFL teams hate to face. But barring a drastic improvement in arm strength or an unlikely mechanics fix, his odds of winning a starting quarterback role are significantly longer than his 29-inch arms.