The last player taken in every NFL draft is commonly referred to as “Mr. Irrelevant” because those players tend to either not last long in the league or go on to have mediocre careers.
But that mold has been broken.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, the No. 262 player selected in last year’s draft, began starting after QB Jimmy Garoppolo, who led San Francisco to the Super Bowl in 2020, was injured Dec. 4 in a game against the Miami Dolphins. Surprisingly, Purdy won all seven games he started during the regular season.
But what also makes Purdy special to many is his unabashed devout Christianity.
“They’re now just one game away from the Super Bowl! In addition to being a super talented football player, I love the fact that Brock Purdy is so open about his faith in Jesus Christ,” Rev. Franklin Graham noted on Facebook after the 49ers beat the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday to advance in the playoffs.
.@49ers @BrockPurdy13 gives all credit to Jesus Christ. "Every time I play…I want others to see God through my actions…Even when we lose, I point to God & thank Him…” Now that’s a winning game plan for life. I'll be rooting for him this weekend! https://t.co/SV6UntnX2r
— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) January 18, 2023
“It’s been football, man,” Purdy said before the game. “I don’t try to make it more than it is. I’m a faith-based guy, so that’s how I stay grounded. I don’t look at football like it’s literally everything. It’s [not] do or die or anything like that.”
“It’s a game, and it’s my job, for sure, and I take it very seriously, but at the end of the day, I know that I’m not defined by the wins or losses as a person, like, that’s not who I am,” he continued. “I’m not just a quarterback. I wasn’t born to just to be a quarterback and play football, and that’s it.
“Like, I have a life and everything like that. And I remember that, but at the same time, man, I’m a competitor. I love to compete,” he continued. “I want to win at all costs, and so, I’ve been enjoying that as well, so that’s where I’m at. That’s how I stay grounded with it all, but I’m definitely thankful and blessed to be here.”
In 2019, when he was a sophomore quarterback for Iowa State, Purdy told Sports Spectrum he wanted “others to see God through my actions.”
“Every time I step on the field, I want to bring Him glory. Even when we lose, I point to God and thank him for the opportunity. Everything happens for a reason; it’s all a lesson from the Lord,” he explained.
“It’s a game, it’s not my life. It took me a long time to realize this; I used to put football in front of the Lord. I would pray for him to keep me safe and give me a good game, but it isn’t about that. Now I pray that I would make the most of the opportunity he’s given me and, win or lose, that I would put him first,” Purdy said.
