It’s been probably the most documented storyline in the NFL this season and rightfully so, Brock Purdy was taken with the last pick in the draft and could potentially lead his team to a Super Bowl.
For those of you not in the know, the final pick in the NFL draft is endearingly called “Mr Irrelevant” and is normally a selection usually reserved for punters, kickers or blokes that don’t normally make it out of training camp.
Before Purdy lit up the back end of the 2022/23 NFL season the most successful Mr Irrelevant was Ryan Succop, a kicker who had a very successful 11 year career in the league.
That’s about it after Succop, the Mr Irrelevant title is called that for a reason, Purdy has seemingly broken away from the crudely named draft title and is currently in the top three finalists for offensive rookie of the year.
The 49ers system clearly suits him and Kyle Shanahan has put him in a position to succeed, there is a huge chance that Purdy and the 49ers book themselves a trip to the Super Bowl this weekend too.
Purdy is in a realm of his own when it comes to rookie quarterbacks in the playoffs.
We know he was picked last, lets put that to the side for a second and pretend he’s just a rookie, here are some jaw dropping stats about the campaign he’s having.
In the entirety of NFL history, 24 rookie QBs have started a playoff game, of those 24 only 10 have won a game and of those 10, only 8 have won two. One of those is Purdy.
His 332 Pass Yards in the Wild Card game against the Seahawks was the most ever by a rookie in a playoff debut and second most ever by a rookie fullstop.
No rookie quarterback has ever made a Super Bowl let alone a Mr Irrelevant and the 49ers look like the real deal this season.
I thought I would go back through the years (not too far don’t worry) and compare how Purdy’s playoff run truly compares to other rookie Quarterbacks.
Mac Jones (2021)
Taken with the 15th Pick in the 2021 draft, the Patriots drafted their Tom Brady replacement.
Mac came from a very strong Alabama system and hit the ground running in the NFL in a big way.
He finished the regular season with a very respectable 3,801 Pass Yards, 22 TDs and 13 Ints, which was enough for the Pats to finish 10-7 and lock in a Wild Card game with their divisional rivals the Buffalo Bills.
Sadly for Mac and the Pats, that wild card game was over well before halftime as the Bills got out to a 27-3 lead that was too much to come back from.
Credit where credit is due, he finished the game with a stat line of 232 Yards and a pair of TDs but he also threw two interceptions and the final scoreline ended up 47-17.
The Pats did not been return to the playoffs after a disastrous 2022 season.
Lamar Jackson (2018)
Snubbed by every team but Baltimore on draft day, Lamar promised fans “they gonna get a Super Bowl outta me” and for a brief second there, it looked like it was going to happen almost immediately.
He got his first official start with the Ravens in Week 10 of the 2018/19 season and the dual threat QB finished the second half of the season 6-1.
That was enough for the Ravens to win the AFC North 10-6 and book themselves a Wild Card game against Phillip Rivers and the Chargers.
It was a very slow start to the game offensively the Chargers kicked 4 un answered field goals before the Ravens got one of their own.
The slow start ending up costing the Ravens, they let Melvin Gordon score a fourth Quarter TD on them and despite a late push from Lamar and the Ravens. They couldn’t overcome the Chargers.
Lamar finished with a stat line of 194 Yards, 2 TDs and 1 Int and also rushed for 54 yards on 9 attempts.
Safe to say Lamar took it personally, the year after losing the Wild Card game he won the MVP and was beaten by the Titans 28-12 in the Divisional Round that year.
Dak Prescott (2016)
Before Purdy, Dak was the most recent “out of nowhere” quarterback in the league.
Drafted by the Cowboys in the 4th round with the 135th Pick, Dak played all 16 games in his rookie year, he finished with 3,667 Yards, 23 TDs and just four Interceptions, on top of that Dak finished the year with 282 rushing yards and six TDs to his name.
That was enough for him to win Offensive Rookie of the Year and the Cowboys to finish 13-3 which was the best record in the NFC and got them a first week bye.
The Cowboys played the Packers in the Divisional round which was a nailbiter that finished 34-31 to Green Bay.
Dak played as well as he did all year finishing with 302 Yards, three TDs and an interception but a Mason Crosby field goal late in the fourth ended the Cowboys massive 2016 campaign.
Connor Cook (2016)
Who? I hear you asking. Who indeed.
Connor Cook was the Raiders third string Quarterback in the 2016 season.
Drafted in the 4th round of the 2016 NFL Draft with the 100th pick (35 spots before Dak Prescott) and he rode the bench for almost all of the season and for good reason.
Derek Carr was COOKING that year with had 3937 Yards, 28 TDs and only six interceptions.
The Raiders were 12-2 and with two games left of the regular season and were poised for a huge playoff run.
It was not to be though, in the Christmas Eve game against the Colts, Carr broke his leg and was out indefinitely.
So that’s when Cook came in right? Nope.
Matt McGloin was the QB2 and started their final regular season game against the Broncos and was going to save the Raiders but did his shoulder in the first half, thrusting Connor Cook into the starting job.
They lost against the Broncos and came up against the Texans in the Wildcard round and lost 27-14.
Cook in his ever game as a starter finished with 161 Yards, one TD and three interceptions…
Where is he now you ask?
Cook bounced around the league in practice squads for a couple of years before heading to the XFL.
He then lost his starting spot to PJ Walker and was cut when the XFL went under in 2020.
AJ McCarron (2015)
Drafted in the 5th Round by the Cincinnati Bengals. McCarron was locked in as the Bengals QB2.
He started 4 games for the Bengals that year after Andy Dalton broke his thumb in a game against the Steelers.
He was a very serviceable backup, in his four games as a starter, McCarron threw for 832 Yards, 6 TDs and 2 interceptions.
The Bengals won two of those last four games and that was enough for them to win the AFC North with a 12-4 record.
McCarron couldn’t get past the Steelers in the wildcard game however.
His 212 Yards, 1 TD and interception was a respectable stat line but it wasn’t enough as the Bengals went down 18-16 and didn’t make the playoffs again until 2021.
Andrew Luck (2012)
One of the most highly touted quarterback prospects of all time.
Drafted first overall, he was the Colts saviour.
Luck’s 4374 Yards, 23 Touchdowns and 18 Interceptions was such a turn around from the poor QB play that saw them end up with the top overall pick.
At the time his 4374 Yards was the most ever by a rookie QB.
The Colts turned it around very quickly in 2012 and finished 11-5, enough for a wild card game against the Ravens.
It is a playoff game that Colts’ fans probably want to forget, it was clear that they still had a lot of holes to patch in their team and they were blown out 24-9 by the Ravens.
Luck threw for 288 Yards, 0 TDs and interception and that was the end of his rookie season.
Russell Wilson (2012)
Before he was the King of Cringe, Russell Wilson could BALL.
Drafted in the 3rd Round by the Seahawks, Wilson immediately made the Seahawks starting job his own.
He was everything Seattle needed, an electric dual threat QB with a cannon of an arm and the ability to improvise and make something out of nothing.
Combine that with Marshawn Lynch and an elite defence and the Seahawks quickly became a serious problem in the NFC.
Wilson finished the year with 3,118 Yards, 26 TDs and 10 interceptions, which saw the Seahawks finish 11-5 which was enough for a wildcard berth.
The Seahawks played the Redskins and RG3 (who we’re about to talk about) in the Wild Card Game.
Led by Marshawn Lynch’s 132 Yard game, the Seahawks ran away with the win 24-14. Despite being the only QB in this article with a playoff win, Wilson had a quiet game; 187 yards, 1 TD and 0 Ints.
Wilson had a much bigger game in the Divisional Round but it wasn’t enough to beat the Falcons.
Despite DangeRuss throwing for 385 Yards, 2 TDs and 1 Int (the 385 Yards being the most by a rookie QB in playoff history by the way.
It wasn’t enough to beat Matt Ryan and the Falcons, a late Matt Bryant field goal gave Atlanta a 30-28 win.
Robert Griffin III (2012)
Pretty big year for rookie QBs 2012 was. RG3 was taken second overall by the Redskins and took the league by storm.
He started straight away for Washington and finished the year with 3,200 Yards, 20 TDs and 5 Interceptions. Incredibly talented with his legs, Griffin also ran for 815 Yards and 7 TDs.
That monster year for Griffin saw him beat Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson for offensive rookie of the year but the true RG3 story doesn’t have a happy ending.
He suffered a knee injury in Week 14 and then played Washington’s wild card game against the Seahawks despite not being medically cleared to play.
He then further damaged his LCL & ACL and then struggled with injuries for the rest of his short career.