Mr Irrelevant to Super Bowl QB: the rise and rise of 49ers star Brock Purdy

San Francisco's unlikely starting quarterback has grown from an unknown quantity to the verge of history with hard work, consistency and risk taking

When teams selected the NFL stars of the future in the 2022 draft, no one wanted to go anywhere near Brock Purdy - and it was hard to blame them. He had a good college career at Iowa State but the scouting reports hardly screamed The Next Tom Brady: throwing is more of a chore than a talent", lacks quickness", a scrappy runner but not dynamic", shies away from tight throws". At least Purdy was consistent: by the sport's exacting standards, he appeared to be bad at everything.

But the San Francisco 49ers' Kyle Shanahan, known as one of the finest offensive-minded head coaches in the NFL, had been impressed by Purdy's tape from college and selected him with the 262nd - and final - pick of the draft, a position that each year earns one player the nickname Mr Irrelevant" and plenty of derision on social media.