Story by
Who is Brock Purdy? Everything you need to know about the 49ers QB before Super Bowl
- Story by
- Who is Brock Purdy? Everything you need to know about the 49ers QB before Super Bowl
The 2024 NFL playoffs are down to the last game of the season: Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas on Feb. 11. The San Francisco 49ers earned a spot in that game thanks to a 34-31 comeback win over the Detroit Lions . That clinched the team's first trip to the Super Bowl since the 2020 NFL playoffs .
Advertisement
Many of the players from that team are still on the roster but there's one big difference at quarterback. Second-year starter Brock Purdy leads the 49ers' offense in their quest for a Lombardi Trophy.
Here's everything you need to know about him:
Best of the best: The 58 greatest NFL teams to play in the Super Bowl – and not all won Lombardi Trophy
Where is Brock Purdy from?
Purdy was born on December 27, 1999 in Queen Creek, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. His father Shawn pitched in four minor league baseball levels and his sister Whittney played softball at Southeastern University .
According to the high school sports coverage website MaxPreps , Purdy started at quarterback for Perry High School for three years. He totaled 5,422 yards (4,405 passing, 1,017 rushing) and 67 touchdowns (57 passing, 10 rushing) as a senior to lead Perry to the 6A Division AIA State Championship game. The Pumas lost 49-42 to state powerhouse Chandler High School.
Advertisement
That senior season earned him 2017 Arizona High School Football Player of the Year from the Arizona Republic. Purdy beat out future Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson and South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler for the award.
Where did Brock Purdy go to school?
The recruiting website 247Sports rated Purdy as a three-star prospect and the 50th-ranked quarterback in the Class of 2018. Many future NFL quarterbacks were ranked ahead of him, including Trevor Lawrence (first), Justin Fields (second), Dorian Thompson-Robinson (sixth), Matt Corral (eighth), and Will Levis (49th).
Per 247Sports, Purdy received offers from Iowa State , Alabama , Boise State , Texas A&M , and UCF . He chose Iowa State from that group and joined the Cyclones' football team starting in the 2018 season.
Advertisement
'Stuff that you can't measure': Super Bowl-bound QB Brock Purdy was ahead of the curve at Perry, coaches recall
Brock Purdy college stats
Purdy played in 10 games as a freshman for Iowa State, starting eight of them, after entering the 2018 season as the third-string quarterback. He set school freshman records for passing yards and passing touchdowns.
As a sophomore, he led the Cyclones to a 7-6 record. He set a school record for total offense with 510 yards against Louisiana-Monroe and put up six total touchdowns in a one-point loss to a ranked Oklahoma Sooners squad.
Iowa State improved to 9-3 in Purdy's junior season thanks to future New York Jets running back Breece Hall 's stellar play. Purdy won his first bowl game that year with a 34-17 win over Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl .
Advertisement
As a senior, Purdy set a career-high in completion percentage (71.7) as the Cyclones went 7-6 again. Hall's improvement lessened the scoring load on Purdy and he had a career-low 20 total touchdowns in 2021.
Purdy holds the career records for passing yards, completions, attempts, completion percentage, passing touchdowns, and the top two longest passing touchdown streaks in Iowa State history.
Where was Brock Purdy drafted?
Purdy declared for the 2022 NFL Draft with mixed projections as to when he'd be selected. Draft Wire didn't include him in a top 300 prospects ranking ; Pro Football Focus rated him as the 165th prospect of the draft; NFL.com rated him as the 15th-best quarterback in the class and graded him as a priority undrafted free agent.
Advertisement
After 261 names were called, the San Francisco 49ers made Purdy the final and 262nd pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, earning the title of Mr. Irrelevant .
Brock Purdy NFL stats
Purdy entered his rookie season as the 49ers' third-string quarterback. Season-ending injuries to starter Trey Lance in Week 2 and backup Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 13 changed things quickly. Purdy took over for Garoppolo and led the 49ers to seven consecutive wins, including the playoffs, before suffering a torn UCL in the 2023 NFC championship game in the 49ers' 31-7 loss. He came back as the full-time starter in 2023.
Here's how his stats look in his first two seasons as the 49ers' quarterback:
| Year |
Record |
Yards |
TD |
INT |
Completion percentage |
Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 |
5-0 |
1,374 |
13 |
4 |
67.1 |
107.3 |
| 2023 |
12-4 |
4,280 |
31 |
11 |
69.4 |
113.0 |
And his playoff statistics:
| Year |
Record |
Yards |
TD |
INT |
Completion percentage |
Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 |
2-1 |
569 |
3 |
0 |
65.1 |
109.8 |
| 2023 |
2-0 |
519 |
2 |
1 |
61.4 |
111.5 |
Brock Purdy's ranking in San Francisco history
San Francisco has a history of great quarterbacks. Hall of Fame quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young combined for five Super Bowl victories, four MVP awards, and four Super Bowl MVP awards. Fellow Hall of Famer Y.A. Tittle won the 1963 MVP award and made seven Pro Bowls over 10 seasons with the 49ers.
Advertisement
There's also standout quarterbacks who haven't made the Hall of Fame but still shined for 49ers. John Brodie won the 1970 MVP award and made two Pro Bowl teams; Jeff Garcia made three consecutive Pro Bowls and led the team to playoff berths in 2001 and 2002; Colin Kaepernick led the team to a Super Bowl in 2012 behind electric playoff performances.
Purdy already ranks 11th in passing yards and 10th in passing touchdowns in franchise history. He holds the 49ers record for best completion percentage with at least 10 games played.
He became the first 49ers rookie quarterback to start and win a playoff game. In 2023, he set the franchise single-game record for completion percentage at 95.2% in Week 4, passing yards in a season with 4,280 in 16 games, and passer rating in a season with 113.0.
The right guy: Stop picking on 49ers' QB Brock Purdy. He takes so much heat for 'absolutely no reason'
Advertisement
Brock Purdy's ranking in NFL history
Purdy's played in just 30 NFL games between the regular season and playoffs. Because of that, he doesn't meet the criteria for many NFL career leaderboards requiring at least 1,500 regular season pass attempts (Purdy's at 614).
If he were included, Purdy's 111.4 passer rating and 68.7% completion percentage would be the best career marks in NFL history.
He's also set multiple NFL firsts and records, including:
-
First Mr. Irrelevant to throw a touchdown pass in a regular season game.
-
First quarterback to go 6-0 as a starter with at least two touchdown passes in each game to begin his career.
-
Tied for the most games with a passer rating over 130 (6) and 140 (4) in a season.
Brock Purdy awards
Purdy earned NFC Rookie of the Month honors twice as a rookie in December 2022 and January 2023. He also made the PFWA All-Rookie team in 2022.
Advertisement
Brock Purdy's personal life
Purdy grew up as a Miami Dolphins fan and has worn the number 13 since his youth football days in honor of Dolphins Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino.
Purdy proposed to his girlfriend Jenna Brandt in July 2023. The two met at Iowa State where Brandt played for the Cyclones' volleyball team before she transferred to Northern Iowa.
His younger brother Chubba was a four-star prospect from Perry High School and spent two years each at Florida State and Nebraska before transferring to Nevada ahead of the 2024 college football season.
Purdy's recent brand endorsements include Alaska Airlines and Toyota .
Advertisement
Run it back: Let's do this again, shall we? Chiefs, 49ers running it back in Super Bowl 58
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Brock Purdy? Everything to know about Super Bowl-bound 49ers QB
