Finding a franchise quarterback with the final pick of the 2022 NFL draft was always going to be a massive win for the San Francisco 49ers.
Brock Purdy’s emergence as an MVP-caliber signal caller in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense saved San Francisco from certain disaster when the Trey Lance experiment started to show signs of catastrophic failure. Instead of riding it out with a QB still in need of major development, the 49ers managed to make two NFC championship games and a Super Bowl despite their huge swing for Lance.
That alone was going to be enough to make Purdy an all-time draft steal. Mr. Irrelevant had never even completed a pass in the NFL prior to Purdy’s first-career completion. Finding a Mr. Irrelevant who is an MVP candidate at quarterback may never happen again.
The rest of the 2022 quarterback class has been bad enough that it actually further highlights the importance and unlikelihood of Purdy’s ascension for the 49ers. After Malik Willis was traded by the Titans on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s deadline for cuts, only three quarterbacks taken in the 2022 draft remain with the team that selected them.
Here’s a quick rundown of how the eight QBs drafted in 2022 have fared:
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