Brock Purdy Draft-Day Debate Revealed by 49ers HC Shanahan Ahead of NFL Super Bowl 58

The San Francisco 49ers had quite the debate in their draft room before taking quarterback Brock Purdy with the 262nd and final pick of the 2022 NFL draft, a selection that has been dubbed as Mr. Irrelevant throughout the years.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan outlined that decision-making process to Peter King of NBC Sports, with the crux of the debate in San Francisco centering around the fact that the team had traded up to take Trey Lance in 2021 and had other needs on the roster:

"I was sure Brock was worthy of the fourth round, and we put a fourth-round grade on him. There was no way we could take him for our team. But we're sitting there in the seventh, and all these picks go by, he's still there. That's when I get to hear our linebacker coaches, all the scouts, other coaches, everybody who's talking, saying things like: 'I can't believe my guy is still there in the seventh! I love this guy.' Or, 'We got all these needs! You traded those ones last year! We don't need a quarterback to be our third guy.' Or, 'Kyle! We can still get him as a free agent. He's not gonna get drafted.' I mean, it's all coming down on me."

Shanahan really loved Purdy as a prospect, though, despite knowing the team had other roster spots to fill. So when club co-chair Dr. John York asked him who the best player remaining on the team's board was and Shanahan responded that it was undoubtedly Purdy, York told him he didn't understand why there was a "discussion if you guys think he's the best player."

Ultimately, Shanahan and general manager John Lynch took Purdy, fearing they wouldn't be able to sign him as an undrafted free agent.

The rest is history. Both Lance and former starter Jimmy Garoppolo were ultimately lost to injury in 2022, Purdy took over and led the team to the NFC Championship Game, thrived as the starter this season and has now led the Niners to the Super Bowl.

Despite all of his early success, Shanahan said Purdy hasn't changed one bit.

"And the dude, he doesn't have to work at not listening to it or trying to stay humble or trying to not get caught up in how life is changing," he told King. "You know why? He doesn't care. He really has a true foundation and knows who he is and who he wants to be. That is rare for any human. He's a special player. But this stuff... he's a special guy."

And nobody's calling him irrelevant these days, that much is for certain.