San Francisco 49ers star quarterback Brock Purdy was famously the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, but it sounds like head coach Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers almost didn’t select him.
During a recent interview with Peter King for his Football Morning in America column, Kyle Shanahan opened up a little bit about the process that led up to the team selecting Brock Purdy with the final pick in the seventh round, revealing that other coaches wanted him to select other players instead.
“I was sure Brock was worthy of the fourth round, and we put a fourth-round grade on him,” Shanahan told Peter King. “There was no way we could take him for our team. But we’re sitting there in the seventh, and all these picks go by, he’s still there. That’s when I get to hear our linebacker coaches, all the scouts, other coaches, everybody who’s talking, saying things like: ‘I can’t believe my guy is still there in the seventh! I love this guy. Or, We got all these needs! You traded those ones last year! We don’t need a quarterback to be our third guy. Or, Kyle! We can still get him as a free agent. He’s not gonna get drafted.’ I mean, it’s all coming down on me,” Shanahan told King.
“You hear all this stuff and the last thing you wanna be is the offensive head coach who’s like, ‘Nope, we’re taking my favorite quarterback.’ I get it—this linebacker, this running back might start for us … This linebacker might be the next dude. I remember saying before the draft I wouldn’t be surprised if Brock was there in the seventh, or didn’t get drafted. Just how the NFL works.”
But ultimately, after a conversation with 49ers co-chairman Dr. John York, the Niners decided to select Purdy with Shanahan deciding he was simply the best player available.
“I’m always trying to check myself on this stuff. The pick’s coming up and I remember [club co-chair Dr. John York] asking, ‘Who’s the best player out there?’ I go, ‘Well, there’s no doubt Purdy’s the best player.’ He goes, ‘Then what are we talking about?’ I was like, ‘Well, there’s other spots. Also, we might be able to get him as a free agent for $10,000 after the draft.’ Dr. York can’t believe it. He’s looking at me like, I don’t get why there’s discussion if you guys think he’s the best player.
“Then it gets closer. I’m also getting the feeling we’re not getting Purdy as a free agent because there are so many other teams who are going to try to sign him. He wasn’t coming to us. He’s told me since then he was signing somewhere else. I said in the room, ‘Let’s not risk it. This guy’s too good.’
“John and I, we took Purdy. And thank God we did.”
The rest is history – Purdy led the team to the NFC Championship game last year before his injury, and he has them in the Super Bowl this year.
