Purdy reveals how 49ers approached him leading up to draft originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
The 49ers had quite the decision on their hands when making their final selection at No. 262 during the 2022 NFL Draft.
San Francisco could have used the pick on another position player and then signed quarterback Brock Purdy, who they had their eye on, as an undrafted free agent. But the 49ers would run the risk of another team signing him.
“There was a bunch of teams calling, both my agent and I, that had interest and wanted to meet up and then obviously have me sign with them,” Purdy told reporters Thursday. “We had a list going, but there wasn’t exactly one team that I was going to go to.”
Nonetheless, the 49ers opted to make Purdy “Mr. Irrelevant,” and the 23-year-old revealed the process that might have tipped the scale in his favor when meeting with the organization.
“I did a Zoom meeting with [quarterbacks] coach [Brian] Griese and [assistant quarterbacks coach] Klay Kubiak, so we had a Zoom set up and walked through some plays at Iowa State, my story and how I think, all that kind of stuff,” Purdy said.
“And then going into the last day of the draft, Kubiak and Griese called me and just caught up and said, ‘Hey, hopefully we can have the opportunity to take you today at some point,’ so that was really about it.”
Since taking over the starting job for the 49ers after Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a broken foot against the Miami Dolphins in Week 13, many other NFL teams are questioning how the Iowa State product fell to the final pick in the draft.
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But it’s clear that his intellect and drive made an impact on San Francisco’s scouting department, and the 49ers certainly are glad Purdy still was on the board at No. 262.