The best part of Super Bowl LVIII is definitely the Brock Purdy story, and what a story it was.
No doubt more layers of his legend will peel as the week progresses.
We just learned that he was considered the best quarterback on his roster despite being the No. 3 player, and now Peter King has the scoop on Purdy’s lineup.
Appearing on 95.7’s Willard and Dibs, King gave some background on what was going on in the 49ers’ war room when the 262 came.
This is another story of Kyle Shanahan falling out with the coaches. In this case, Shanahan’s main reason for taking Purdy was to prevent the quarterback from hitting free agency knowing that the 49ers had no chance to sign him.
“This draft – 262 picks in the draft – when you have the last pick in the draft. As a head coach, as a coaching staff, as a CEO. Kyle Shanahan, those coaches, John Lynch, they knew.
Do you know why choice really matters? Because you can sit in the draft room right now and hear everyone’s best argument from a guy they don’t want to let go of and risk losing because another undrafted free agency team offers the guy $5,000 after the draft.
more than you and he will take the money. And he goes somewhere else.“And I’ll tell you this: Kyle Shanahan, during that time, 20, 25, 30 minutes, when they were trying to decide what they were going to do.
He said in that room, “I love that quarterback. That’s the guy I want to take.””All of a sudden a chorus of other coaches come in and say,’Oh, we need that quarterback.
‘””We need that receiver.”””This guy will help us.””We already have two defenders! You traded Trey Lance three times in the draft last year! Who cares about the quarterback and if we lose him?
It doesn’t matter.”“But Kyle Shanahan and the management of this team made a decision that, I’m telling you, made some people in this room gasp when they took Brock Purdy.
Because who has any idea about the Iowa State quarterback? But Kyle Shanahan knew one thing and that was the most important thing, and that’s why he ended up with Brock Purdy at No. 262 and the last pick in the draft.
And he knew Brock Purdy wasn’t going to sign with the 49ers in free agency. He knew that.”So he said, ‘If we want this man, if I love him so much, we have to pick him.
‘””So they picked him. And obviously they lost some guys who could have made their team, because every year there’s one or two or three guys who are undrafted rookies who come in — to any NFL team — and make the team.
But I think the coaches who argued against it will be pretty happy tonight that Kyle Shanahan got his backup and took over for Brock Purdy..
