There's a general philosophy some NFL people have, and in San Francisco 49ers' lore Bill Walsh openly had, that says, essentially "draft a quarterback every year." It won't always work out, of course, but you keep the pipeline full at the most important position on the field that way.
After a focus on defense early in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Niners used the first of their three seventh-round picks on Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke. He spent the first five years of his college career at Ohio University, highlighted by winning MAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2022. It was later revealed he played all of last season for the Hoosiers on a torn right ACL, which was not reflected in how he performed.
It's a matter of time before the 49ers give Brock Purdy a contract in line with his market value, so he's not going anywhere as the starting quarterback for a little while. But the depth chart behind him has changed this year, with Mac Jones and Rourke replacing Brandon Allen and Josh Dobbs, and it will be a living organism. Tanner Mordecai is also on the roster.
It's easy to see a lot similarities between Rourke and Purdy, with the round they were drafted in as the starting point.
Notable NFL analyst thinks Kurtis Rourke and the 49ers are an ideal match
On a recent episode of the "Ross Tucker Football Podcast", long-time NFL analyst Greg Cosell talked about each of the incoming rookie quarterbacks and how they fit with the team that drafted them. He had some nice praise for Rourke:
"You could make the argument that he's the most refined and nuanced quarterback in the 2025 draft class as far as timing and anticipation, consistently precise ball placement," Cosell said "I thought he showed a strong sense of progression reading. He's mentally tough, he's physically tough. He had clean footwork, clean balance."
"Not a big arm, but you think about the 49er offense, I think I pretty much described their passing game. So, it makes sense that he would go to a team like that."
Cosell then made it clear he's not saying Rourke is a threat to take Purdy's job:
"I'm not saying he's the starting quarterback, but I think his traits fit," Cosell continued. "I said he'd likely profile as a backup, but if he had to start, his ability to have success would be dependent on the offense, and I thought strong, sustaining run game, quick rhythm, timing, passing game, RPO elements, play action—all those things that kind of the Niners do."
Rourke was slated to have ACL surgery in the second week of January, so he's not quite four months into his recovery right now. That also means he's in line to have a "redshirt" rookie season, which 49ers' head coach Kyle Shanahan acknowledged after the draft as he also had a lot of praise for the rookie.
"I thought it was just a very good valuable pick for us", Shanahan said, "for a guy who might not be ready for another year."
Rourke might have a lengthy NFL career, but it's hard to see him ever being anyone's long-term starter. Of course the latter was said about Purdy in 2022, and we know how that has turned out.
In any case, Rourke has landed in Shanahan's quarterback cradle as an ideal start to us all looking back some day and going "wow, he played 10 years in the league".