Brock Purdy is already one of the NFL’s most prominent underdog stories ever. The former Iowa State product was the “Mr. Irrelevant” — the last pick — during the 2022 draft and was hardly expected to ever be a starter on a championship-caliber team.
But after injuries to Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance, Purdy quickly asserted himself as a quarterback who belongs. He’s now a Pro Bowler with two NFC title game appearances under his belt, and he has the San Francisco 49ers on the precipice of glory with a berth in this Sunday’s Super Bowl. Not bad for a guy every NFL team wrote off multiple times — the 49ers included — in the draft.
Of course, with Purdy being the last pick, that also means everyone was drafted ahead of him, and eight separate quarterbacks (!) were selected before he finally came off the board. Given where most of the otherwise atrocious 2022 quarterback class now stands, overlooking Purdy in any context now looks especially egregious.
Let’s take a look at every signal-caller that went ahead of the 49ers’ starting quarterback in this year’s Super Bowl.