When Brock Purdy arrived at the San Francisco 49ers after being selected with the last overall pick in the draft, he knew nothing would come easy. He was on an NFL roster but would need to fight to stick around. Ahead of him were Trey Lance and Nate Sudfeld. The 49ers gave the latter a fully-guaranteed $2 million, indicating he had a leg-up on the backup quarterback job.
Even Jimmy Garoppolo wasn't entirely out of the picture. The veteran quarterback wasn't around, though, as he recovered from shoulder surgery and his future with the team remained murky.
"I didn't look too far ahead when I first got drafted," Purdy said Tuesday morning on KNBR. "I saw the situation in the quarterback room, and for me, it was, How can I go and make an impression to the coaches and my teammates and everything? And I just kept my head down and grinding and let everything fall into place."
Purdy made an impression. Coaches loved him so much that they sacrificed Sudfeld and kept Purdy on the 53-man roster, even after deciding to keep Garoppolo around. The 49ers didn't want to expose Purdy to waivers to try to get him on the practice squad.
That decision paid off. Lance went down in Week 2, and Garoppolo followed in Week 13, leaving Purdy as the starter for the remainder of the season. The rookie quarterback is showing the NFL world what his coaches saw in him early on.
"I'm obviously very grateful that I made the team, and here we are," Purdy said.
Watching him on the field, it's easy to forget that Purdy is a rookie. He has the poise and leadership of a seasoned veteran. And he is having a storybook start to his NFL career.
Still, the 23-year-old quarterback remembers what it was like when he first arrived on the team, seeing stars like Deebo Samuel and Nick Bosa, who he had grown to admire. He was in awe.
"I would say, right when I first got here, it was definitely like that," Purdy shared. "I'm like, man, Nick Bosa just reported back, and I saw how yoked he was, and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh.' I'm a couple of lockers away from him. And then there's George Kittle right there, and Trent Williams, and even Jimmy, when Jimmy came back.
"I'm like, 'Man, this is crazy.' But over time, they're normal dudes. They're real dudes. They're just really good at what they do. They're really good football players."
Purdy knew that the talented locker room would only improve his play, and the quarterback was prepared to take advantage of the situation. The 49ers' roster was loaded on both sides of the ball.
"I would say, even going out on the field and throwing to Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo, it makes you better," Purdy continued. "You have to elevate your game, so it's helped me out. But at the same time, I do take it in. You play against a guy like Tom Brady or all these other stars on the other teams, it's cool to reflect, and take a moment, like, 'Man, I just played against that guy,' and it's pretty cool."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Purdy below.