49ers news: Brock Purdy a top-5 NFL Draft pick (if there was a do-over)

49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is a clear example of why any NFL Draft is a craps shoot. If ESPN could do 2022 over, he’d be a top-five pick, right?

The NFL might want to get rid of the moniker associated with the final pick of the NFL Draft, “Mr. Irrelevant.”

Of course, there are a lot of fun things that go into being that final pick. But the association with being irrelevant is now massively obsolete.

Particularly in the wake of the 2022 Mr. Irrelevant, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, who seemingly came out of nowhere after being selected dead last in that year’s NFL Draft and rising all the way to one of the most-discussed young quarterbacks in the league after his red-hot streak that helped the Niners get all the way to the NFC Championship game.

Purdy, San Francisco’s third-string quarterback on the opening-day depth chart, got into service thanks to season-ending injuries to fellow signal-callers Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo.

Now, with Garoppolo a pending free agent and Lance having started only four games, the 2023 starting job appears to be Purdy’s to lose.

Provided he can recover from his own elbow injury suffered in that NFC Championship loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

That’s a concern for the offseason, however. In the meantime, and with hindsight as a benefit, would Purdy be the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft if there was ever a do-over?

Absolutely not. And ESPN said as much.

Brock Purdy goes No. 4 overall in ESPN re-do of 2022 NFL Draft

ESPN recently put together a redraft of the 2022 NFL Draft class (subscription required), and it’s safe to assume before getting any deeper that Purdy wouldn’t last to No. 262 overall.

Heck, he didn’t even last outside of the top 10, according to ESPN.

No, the former Iowa State signal-caller ended up going No. 4 overall to the New York Jets, who originally used that pick on cornerback Sauce Gardner (he ended up going No. 1 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the redraft).

That would mean, with hindsight as a great guide, that Gang Green would be giving up on its own 2021 top-three quarterback, Zach Wilson, after just one season.

Instead, New York will probably do so after two.

Here’s the text from ESPN’s Rich Cimini, courtesy of Kyle Madson of Niners Wire:

"Yes, Purdy will be on the shelf for at least six months with a UCL tear to this throwing elbow, but we’re thinking long term not short term. It hasn’t worked out with Zach Wilson — the No. 2 overall pick in 2021 — so it’s time to change direction at quarterback. Purdy was Mr. Irrelevant in the real draft, but he’d be very relevant to the Jets. He’d look good in Gotham, especially if they fail to land veterans Aaron Rodgers or Derek Carr this offseason. In eight starts and four relief appearances — three starts in the playoffs — Purdy completed 66.5% of his passes, throwing for 1,943 yards with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions."

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Granted, Purdy entered a context where the offense around him was loaded with All-Pro and Pro Bowl talents, and it’s anyone’s guess how things would have worked out with the Jets.

Acknowledging that a redraft is nothing but what-if chatter anyway, it’s still pretty remarkable that Purdy’s ascent from Mr. Irrelevant turned into being a speculative top-five pick in the NFL Draft.