Whether Or Not He’s The Next Tom Brady, Brock Purdy Is Taking His Chance
San Francisco 49ers third-string quarterback Brock Purdy is living proof that irrelevancy lies in the eyes of the beholder. After both the 49ers’ starting and backup quarterbacks went down with injuries, Purdy, who was drafted 262nd —dead last—in the 2022 NFL draft, earning him the NFL’s 86-year-old traditional designation “Mr. Irrelevant,” has gone on to fashion himself a highly relevant season.
He became the first Mr. Irrelevant to complete a forward pass; then, he became the first Mr. Irrelevant to throw a touchdown pass during the regular season. On a roll, Purdy became the only quarterback to beat Tom Brady in his first career start, which he accomplished this past weekend as the 49ers defeated Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35-7, in which Purdy threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another. (He left the game with an injury but says he’s good to go for the next contest. Fingers crossed!)
During the game’s broadcast, the commentators drew an explicit comparison between the GOAT and the Mr. Irrelevant, showing how pre-draft scouting reports had criticized both players’ lack of arm strength and physical presence in the pocket and pegged them as too dependent on fitting into an offensive system rather than leading an offense. Brady wasn’t picked until the sixth round, only one round higher than Purdy.
Well, the scouts sure missed the boat on Brady. Were they committing a similar oversight with Purdy, wondered the commentators?
While it’s definitely too early to anoint Purdy as Brady’s successor, it’s not too early to draw an important lesson about personal leadership, which refers to the practice of developing a positive and accountable mindset and the right habits to support them. We wrote in this space about another third-string player, Geno Smith, who stepped up when most others had written him off. But at least Smith was, by comparison, a relevant second-round pick.
Not so for Purdy who, in June of 2022, as part of the backhanded compliment of being selected with the last pick, was the guest of honor at Mr. Irrelevant Week, which, since 1976, has featured parades and various other activities celebrating the distinction while raising funds for charity. Purdy was a good sport throughout the week-long event held in Newport Beach, California, at one point even offering the youngsters gathered for the Newport Beach Lifeguard Competition a prescient pep talk, telling them, “It doesn’t matter when you get drafted. It matters what you do when you get there. Let’s have fun and compete.”
One of the more powerful moments during Irrelevant Week occurred when Jesse Sapolu, selected by the 49ers in 1983 in the 11th round—as the 289th overall pick—presented Purdy with his award. Sapolu looked him in the eye and said without a trace of irony or condescension that Purdy’s future was his to shape if he held himself to a champion’s standards.
“Brock, it’s a mindset,” said Sapolu. “And I’m telling you if I can win four Super Bowls as an 11th round draft pick, you can win four Super Bowls as a 7th round draft choice.”
As for comparisons to Brady, we will put aside talking about Super Bowls just yet. But we won’t overlook the way Purdy has developed the work habits that put him in the position he now enjoys. His coach, Kyle Shanahan, captured it best when asked how a third-stringer who’s not afraid to yell at his high-priced teammates when he sees them loafing in practice would handle himself when asked to lead the team for real.
“He doesn’t have to change much,” Shanahan said. “He had to prepare a ton just to be on the roster. It’s real hard to do that week in and week out. … I couldn’t imagine studying all week for a test and then not being allowed to take the test. Do it a few weeks in a row and some guys eventually roll the dice and don’t do their work one week, and they’re like, ‘All right, it’s not happening,’ And then in the first quarter it happens and they can’t handle it.
“Brock was ready.”
Yes, Brock certainly was ready. And in their very different ways, Shanahan and Sapolu weren’t saying such very different things about self-leadership: in whatever line of work, we find ourselves, we never know when our lucky number will come up. And when it does, we need to be prepared for it. It’s not enough to seize the moment, although doing so is always important. But it’s more impactful, and considerably more difficult, to prepare for our moment in the sun even when it’s raining on the bench.
One person who seemed to appreciate the lesson was Purdy’s father, Shawn, who told reporters during Mr. Irrelevant Week that he fully expected his son to tuck into his opportunity with dedication and passion. But nothing could have prepared Shawn for Sunday’s game versus Tampa Bay. The Purdys had secured tickets for the Tampa Bay game in order to be able to see Tom Brady. Little did they know at the beginning of the season when they picked this game that the crowd would be chanting their son’s name as tears streamed down his dad’s face.