5 out of 8 remaining QBs are 1st round picks

[Sunstroke]

So you're saying that after deciding Purdy's value was less than the last pick of the 6th round but more than the last pick of the 7th, after getting him into camp the 49ers realized they had a gem?  I guess all the other teams that had him in camp have egg on their faces now!

No other teams had him in camp, as the 49ers actually drafted him.  If you mean "had him in for a workout, then yes...any team that brought him in and didn't expend a draft pick for him has an egg on their faces the size of a pterodactyl.

[Spider-Dan]

No other teams had him in camp, as the 49ers actually drafted him.

Yes, that was my point.  You implied that the 49ers didn't realize what they had until they had him in camp, which a) is not really a scouting success story, but more on the coaches, and b) is a perspective that is only available to the team that drafted him.

[masterfins]

SF identified him much earlier, but they had the chosen one (Lance) ready to start, an excellent backup (Garoppolo) as the #2, and a serviceable #3 QB with Sudfeld. They took Purdy "despite" not needing a QB, because they liked his track record at Iowa State. Then, after being impressed by Purdy at camp, they kept him instead of Sudfeld.

The rest, Niner-hater, is history...

Please don't bring up the fact that Miami could have drafted him 15 spots before SF took him, but instead took Skylar Thompson, or the complainers on here will never let it go.

[Spider-Dan]

If I'm drafting with a time machine, I can do a lot better than Brock Purdy.

Justin Jefferson instead of Austin Jackson, Trevon Diggs instead of Noah, Creed Humphrey instead of Liam Eichenberg, etc.

[DenverFinFan]

What percentage of teams that didn’t make the playoffs had first round QBs? In order to make the case that a first round QB is essential for success you must show that this differentiates the good teams from the bad teams.  As it is most bad teams also have a first round QB.  The fact that almost half of the teams still in the playoffs didn’t draft a QB in the first round strongly suggests you don’t need a first round QB for success.

Pats fan logic. The sample size is tainted because everyone takes a swing trying to get a franchise QB so you a swing on people in the first round because it does determine if you win a SB or not. ( of course there are Dilfer exceptions) most teams will not have a franchise quarterback whether they draft in the first or not, that just says how rare a good quarterback is. But the point remains most winners will be from the first hour, your cheating Michigan alum is the exception.

[Sunstroke]

If I'm drafting with a time machine, I can do a lot better than Brock Purdy.

Justin Jefferson instead of Austin Jackson, Trevon Diggs instead of Noah, Creed Humphrey instead of Liam Eichenberg, etc.

Let me know when you get that time machine. Until then, be happy with Skylar...

[dolphins4life]

If we were going to use a time machine, we'd go back to 2010 and pick Gronk.

[Spider-Dan]

Let me know when you get that time machine. Until then, be happy with Skylar...

If the subject is QBs destined to hold a clipboard next season (as Skylar will), I'm even happier with the three first-round picks that SF gave MIA just to have Trey Lance warming their bench.  

[Sunstroke]

Yes, that was my point.  You implied that the 49ers didn't realize what they had until they had him in camp, which a) is not really a scouting success story, but more on the coaches, and b) is a perspective that is only available to the team that drafted him.

A little peek behind the curtain during the draft for ya, Spidey...


On March 11, 2022, the 49ers all but anointed Nate Sudfeld as their No. 2 quarterback by giving him a fully guaranteed $2 million contract. At the time, the 49ers intended to trade incumbent starter Jimmy Garoppolo to save salary cap space and to pave the way for 2021 first-round pick Trey Lance to take over.

The 49ers valued the 6-foot-6 Sudfeld because of his prototypical size, versatile skill set and obvious rapport with Lance. Sudfeld, a 28-year-old career backup, became a trusted friend and mentor to the raw but talented Lance while spending most of the previous season on the 49ers' practice squad.

As last April’s NFL Draft approached, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch discussed the possibility of adding a third quarterback with one of the team’s final picks. In an interview with Bay Area radio station KNBR earlier this month, Lynch recalled Shanahan telling him, “I’d like to go get another young quarterback just to add into the mix. Let’s try to identify one later.”

Among the options was Purdy, a former three-star recruit who became Iowa State’s starter during his freshman year and maintained his hold on the job until he graduated. By then, he had completed more than two-thirds of his 1,467 passes and thrown 81 touchdown passes while helping carry a long-struggling Cyclones program to four straight winning seasons.

The 49ers scouted Purdy extensively. Then they interviewed Iowa State coach Matt Campbell and others close to him. Then quarterbacks coaches Brian Griese and Klay Kubiak peppered him with questions during a series of Zoom calls. The 49ers originally planned to target Purdy as their most coveted undrafted free agent, but they changed their minds during the draft after they were able to address more glaring needs at cornerback and along the offensive line.

The NFL awarded the 49ers a league-high five compensatory draft picks in 2022 for losing free agent players, coaches or executives to other teams. The last of those, the final pick in the draft that bestows the “Mr. Irrelevant” title on one player each year, presented a perfect opportunity to splurge on a quarterback whose accuracy and experience intrigued the 49ers enough that they didn’t want to risk losing him to another team.

“We got there to Mr. Irrelevant and I think we all just kind of looked at each other and said, ‘Why chance it?’” Lynch recalled.

[Spider-Dan]

Again, credit where credit is due for Purdy's success, but that story sounds like the 49ers initially felt Purdy was worth zero draft capital, but later - after extensive research - changed their minds and decided that he was worth the smallest possible amount of draft capital.  As Lynch himself put it: “We got there to Mr. Irrelevant and I think we all just kind of looked at each other and said, ‘Why chance it?’”

If Miami had picked Purdy instead of Skylar, the 49ers front office would have had zero regrets on how they spent the two draft picks at the end of the 6th round.  Even after their extensive research, they still did not believe Purdy rated a late-6th-round pick.  (And, in all fairness: that was an accurate belief at the time!  If they had picked someone else with the last pick, Purdy would have still been available and they could have gotten him as an UDFA anyway!)

So just enjoy the incredible production SF is getting from an unexpected gem.  It is unnecessary to also brag about the unparalleled vision of the 49ers' scouting department.