How Purdy pranked his family, friends before 49ers drafted QB
How Purdy pranked his family, friends before 49ers drafted QB originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Editor's Note: "Mr. Relevant: Brock Purdy's NFL Story," a 49ers Talk original series, details the QB's incredible journey from the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft to Bay Area superstar through his eyes and those closest to him, his mom and dad.
Brock Purdy usually is all business, but on the third day of the 2022 NFL Draft, he played quite a prank on his family and friends as they eagerly awaited his professional football destination.
Not knowing what his NFL future would hold, Purdy didn’t want to make a big deal about the final day of the draft. Against his wishes, though, the quarterback’s mother, Carrie, planned a huge party at his family’s home in Gilbert, Ariz., where Brock watched the draft, so he struck back with his own plan.
“Toward the end of the draft, you get teams calling you in hopes that you would sign with them, choose them in free agency,” Brock told NBC Sports Bay Area in a recent interview. “I had been taking a bunch of calls from five, six, seven teams. Every time I’d go into [his parents’] room, I’d come out, and they’d be waiting, and I’m like, ‘No, it’s just a free-agent call.’
“Then you get to the seventh round, and it's like, all right, this has got to be it, right?” Brock added. “They give me a call, and they are like, ‘It’s between you and a safety.’ ”
Said Carrie Purdy: “He went into the bedroom, and my girlfriend is a crazy video girl. I said, ‘Go right now. I think something is happening.’ She says, ‘He’s making me nervous. No, I don’t want to.’ So, nobody followed him in there after all day we followed him in.”
That allowed Brock to privately talk with 49ers general manager John Lynch, who told the quarterback he’d be the 262nd and final pick of the draft.
“At the end, the Niners called,” Purdy said. “John Lynch was like, ‘Hey Brock, this is John Lynch. We’re going to take you.’ I was so thankful. I thought, man. I get an opportunity. I get a shot in the NFL.
“I was in my parents’ room, and I come walking out into the living room, and everyone is waiting,” Purdy added. “I said, ‘Nope. It’s another free-agency call.’ They were like, ‘No, way! You’re lying!’ I said, ‘That’s it.’ ”
Purdy’s family and friends couldn’t believe it. He hadn’t been drafted, and it appeared he’d need to choose where he’d go as a free agent. Then, just before Melanie Salata-Fitch -- the daughter of the original Mr. Irrelevant, the name given to the player taken last in the NFL draft -- announced the pick, Purdy’s name appeared across the TV screen as the 49ers’ selection.
“We were all sitting there, and I’m trying to act all sad in the chair.” Purdy said. "The lady didn’t even say my name on TV yet, but my name came across before. They all screamed and jumped up like I was a first-round pick.”
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Within 10 minutes, the Purdy home overflowed with approximately 100 guests, including coaches, friends and family, making it a night to remember. The balloon arches and the giant celebratory cake didn’t go to waste.
“I think it was a big moment for my family and everyone in my life,” Purdy said. “I [thought], ‘Wow. I’m getting drafted last, but let’s go.’ ”
And go Purdy did, taking the reins of the 49ers’ offense in Week 13 and never looking back, with eight consecutive wins and an NFC Championship Game berth.
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