{"id":15456,"date":"2024-01-03T10:58:04","date_gmt":"2024-01-03T15:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/?p=15456"},"modified":"2024-01-03T10:58:04","modified_gmt":"2024-01-03T15:58:04","slug":"how-49ers-qb-brock-purdy-went-from-mr-irrelevant-to-potential-league-mvp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2024\/01\/how-49ers-qb-brock-purdy-went-from-mr-irrelevant-to-potential-league-mvp.html","title":{"rendered":"How 49ers QB Brock Purdy Went From ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ to Potential League MVP"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The most unmistakable sign that Brock Purdy is a big-time NFL quarterback? We\u2019ve stopped obsessing over the fact that he\u2019s a quarterback. Most people think he\u2019s not supposed to be a quarterback, at least not to the informed minds who create professional football teams, who repeatedly passed over Purdy until San Francisco took him dead last in the 2022 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a selection so haphazard that it comes with a nickname: Mr. Irrelevant. Last year, people were shocked that \u201cMr. Irrelevant\u201d was actually starting games for the 49ers. Now, some believe he could win league MVP. He faces sturdy MVP competition, including Baltimore\u2019s Lamar Jackson, Tyreek Hill and Tua Tagovailoa in Miami and possibly Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia. There\u2019s also Dallas\u2019s Dak Prescott and running back Christian McCaffrey, an all-around playmaker on Purdy\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

However, non-quarterbacks tend to be disadvantaged in MVP votes, with Adrian Peterson being the last non-QB to win in 2012. It\u2019s Purdy who has the inside track after a performance where he threw for four touchdowns and 242 yards in a win against Arizona. Despite taking a heavy hit in the second quarter, which caused him to miss a few snaps, he recovered to lead San Francisco to its sixth straight win and an early clinch of the NFC West. The 49ers Christmas night showdown against the Baltimore Ravens was a potential Super Bowl preview.<\/p>\n

Although the 49ers lost to the Ravens, Purdymania is starting to feel routine, even if it shouldn\u2019t. Purdy is a player who started the 2022 season as the backup to the backup behind both Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo until injuries presented an opportunity, and he never looked back. In the former Iowa State star, San Francisco elevated a coolly reliable passer who keeps getting better at chucking it deep and those pinpoint throws designed so only receivers can catch them.<\/p>\n