Brock Purdy’s NFL story has never followed a normal arc. It began with him being the final pick of the 2022 draft, branded with the tongue-in-cheek label of ‘Mr. Irrelevant,’ to being thrust into the QB1 role of one of the most iconic teams in the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers.
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And somehow through all this, Purdy has had one of the most lucrative quarterback careers in modern football, having recently signed a five-year, $265 million extension worth $53 million annually. Clearly, Brock Purdy is no longer an underdog on paper yet the doubts around him have still not fully disappeared, as evident from everything we have witnessed this season.
Midway through 2025, Purdy suffered an oblique injury that forced him to miss three games. In his absence, backup Mac Jones stepped in and played clean, efficient football, leading the 49ers to wins and briefly reigniting an all-too-familiar debate: Is Purdy just a product of the Kyle Shanahan system?
But as it turned out, that noise didn’t last long. Since returning from injury, Purdy has been surgical.
Over the stretch following his comeback, he’s thrown for more than 1,400 yards with 15 touchdowns and just two interceptions, guiding San Francisco through a five-game winning streak. Any suggestion that he was replaceable evaporated the moment he re-entered the lineup.
Regardless, the fact that Brock Purdy had to once again prove himself despite all the achievements before is exactly why Chad Johnson believes the 49ers QB’s journey deserves to be documented in full.
Speaking on Nightcap alongside Shannon Sharpe, Johnson made the case that Purdy’s career arc has already crossed into rare territory.
“For the last player to be selected, Mr. Irrelevant, he’s become very relevant now,” Sharpe opened, before Johnson took it a step further.
“At some point when his career is over, that story needs to be told in docuseries format… To go from Mr. Irrelevant to the quarterback of the 49ers… that’s a Disney movie-type fairy tale,” he said.
However, while Sharpe and Chad couldn’t stop raving about Purdy’s resilience, what also caught their attention was the fact that he has been producing consistently in arguably one of the toughest division this season.
The NFC West has three teams sitting at 11 wins or more this season. Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco have all traded blows week after week, leaving zero margin for error. Through it all, Purdy has helped keep the 49ers at 11-4 and firmly in the postseason hunt. No wonder this context mattered so much to Johnson and Sharpe while praising the 49ers talisman.
“You think the NFC West is the most stacked division?” Sharpe asked rhetorically on the show. Johnson, in reply, didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely,” Ocho said, pointing out that the division isn’t just offensively loaded, but defensively punishing as well.
Brock Purdy proved he’s more than the Mr. Irrelevant label and he’s doing it in one of the most stacked divisions in football.
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— Nightcap (@NightcapShow_) December 25, 2025
In a year where the NFC lacks a clear favorite, Purdy’s steadiness has stood out. Which brings Chad Johnson back to his original point that Brock Purdy’s career is about repetition — being doubted, responding, and doing it again.
That’s why the former Bengals wideout believes Brock’s story deserves a long-form lens. Because when the career is finally complete, Brock Purdy’s rise may read like a script no one would’ve believed if it hadn’t already happened.
