Brock Purdy Proves The NFL Wrong

49ers’ Brock Purdy was thrust onto the big stage Sunday against the Dolphins, and he won.

San Francisco’s starting quarterback (QB) Jimmy Garoppolo broke his foot, and just when the team’s collective fanbase might have thought, “There goes the season,” this rookie QB from Iowa State stepped in and saved the day.

San Francisco won the game 33-17, but that’s not the real story story line.

The real story line is they did it with Mr. Irrelevant.

Who?

Mr. Irrelevant is the affectionate nickname given to the last player picked in the NFL Draft.

This year that was Purdy, and on Sunday, he did what only signal callers Joe Burrow (CIN), Zach Wilson (NYJ) and Kirk Cousins (MIN) have been able to do so far this season – – beat Miami.

QBR

Granted, it’s one game, but today Purdy has a higher “Total QB Rating” (QBR) than any of the other QBs selected in the 2022 NFL Draft.

That means Purdy has a higher QBR (55.1) than Kenny Pickett (45.8), who was the first QB selected in the draft by the Steelers.

Purdy additionally has a higher QBR than rookie’s Malik Willis (Titans), Sam Howell (Commanders), Desmond Ridder (Falcons), Matt Corral (Panthers), Chris Oladokun (Steelers), Bailey Zappe (Patriots) and Skylar Thompson (Dolphins).

That’s not too Purrrrrrrdy, but it’s the truth.

Scouting is not an exact science

First, I need to credit 49ers’ General Manager John Lynch and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan.

These are the two individuals who saw something in Purdy and actually selected him.

Next, I need to credit First Round Mock’s very own draft analyst, Skyler Meikrantz who wrote this glowing evaluation of Purdy – – pre-draft for NFL Draft Diamonds.

“Purdy’s footwork is the best of the 2022 quarterback class by miles,” said Meikrantz 84 days before the selection was made by the 49ers.

Purdy proves evaluating college football prospects is not that easy.

It’s not even that easy for the general managers who are getting paid between one and three million dollars a year to make the picks (jobinsports.com).

Think about this…

Every team in the league (including the 49ers) passed on Purdy six times over in the first six rounds.

They saw something too

Pro Football Network’s Cam Mellor deserves credit for putting a first-round grade (No. 11 overall) on Purdy on July 18, 2021. Granted, on April 28, 2022, Mellor returned to drop him into the seventh-round, but he still saw something in Purdy (nflmockdraftdatabase.com).

Heading into the 2022 NFL Draft, Vincent Frank (Sports Naut) and Matt Lombardo (GMEN HQ) put a fourth-round grade on Purdy. Frank adjusted his grade to the seventh-round prior to the draft. Jared Mueller (Browns Wire) and Brandon Martinez (The Landry Hat) gave Purdy sixth-round grades. Zach Patraw (Sports Illustrated) put a seventh-round grade on this Iowa State QB.

Purdy better than Trey Lance?

As a former Pro Scout with the New York Jets, I said it on May 14.

Purdy completed a higher percentage of passes over the span of his college career against FBS level competition (67.7%) than Lance did at the FCS level (65.4%).

This trend continued straight through San Francisco’s training camp this year.

David Lombardi, who covers the 49ers for The Athletic, put together this spreadsheet on Twitter showing Purdy outshining Lance.

…This means not only has Purdy produced a higher QBR than all the QBs in his draft class to date, but he also out-classed San Francisco’s very own 2021 first-rounder (Lance) in college and training camp?

It’s looking that way.

Would another Super Bowl Trophy look Purrrrrrrdy in San Francisco?

What does all of this mean?

I am going to be the first and only person in America who is going to say it.

Purdy is going to win Super Bowl LVII on February 12, 2023.

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He currently writes for Sports Illustrated New York Jets and he is the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @firstroundmock.