49ers quarterback Brock Purdy bidding to join rare two-man club of Super Bowl-winning ‘Mr Irrelevants’

Brock Purdy is on the cusp of completing one of the most remarkable stories in pro football.

The San Francisco 49ers quarterback takes on Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII knowing a victory will secure the Niners' first Lombardi Trophy since the 1994 season.

Purdy was selected with the 262nd pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, earning him the rather unenviable nickname 'Mr. Irrelevant', a moniker given to those selected dead last in the draft due to the high chance of them being a bench-warmer for the majority off their careers.

The odds are against Purdy taking on Superman Mahomes, who is bidding to win his third Super Bowl ring, but if he is to do the unthinkable he will join a rare two-man club of Super Bowl-winning 'Mr. Irrelevants'.

Victory in Las Vegas would see the 24-year-old join Marty Moore and Ryan Succop as the only 'Mr. Irrelvants' in history to win the NFL's ultimate prize.

Moore was a special teams player and became the first 'Mr. Irrelevant' to play in a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI.

The Pats lost to the Green Bay Packers in that 1997 clash but Moore eventually became the first 'Mr. Irrelevant' to win a Super Bowl when his Patriots beat the St. Louis Rams in 2002.

Kicker Succop, meanwhile, became the second 'Mr. Irrelevant' to win an NFL championship when his Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV in 2021.

A win against the defending champions at Allegiant Stadium on 11 February will see Purdy join that exclusive two-man club while carving out his own place in history.

He could become the first 'Mr. Irrelevant' to win a Super Bowl as a starting quarterback - the most scrutinised and important position in a team.

It's been quite the turnaround for the plucky Iowa State product once labelled 'not a very good athlete' with a 'limited arm'.

San Francisco ultimately took a punt on Purdy with their last pick of the 2022 draft, but very much saw him as their third-string QB behind Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance.

“From the outside looking in, I guess it’s a funny thing, and I’ll embrace the role and have some fun with it for sure, but at the end of the day I’m trying to go and help a team win the Super Bowl,” Purdy said at the time.

“That’s where my mindset is at with it.”

Purdy's self-belief was evident from the get-go, and he set out to prove a point from the very first training camp of his rookie season.

“In preseason, he looked like he had some dog in him,” teammate Nick Bosa said in December 2022.

Purdy capitalised on injuries to previous starting quarterbacks Jimmy G and Lance and was elevated to QB1 for the rest of his debut campaign.

In a regular season win over the Miami Dolphins, the Arizona native became the first ever 'Mr. Irrelevant' to throw a touchdown pass in a regular season game.

A week later he got the better of legendary quarterback and seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady in a victory over the Bucs.

Purdy went 5-0 as a starter that season and helped San Francisco to the NFC Championship game which they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 31-7.

The signal caller bounced back this season with an MVP-calibre campaign that saw the 14-5 Niners secure another NFC West title and the conference's No.1 seed.

In the Week 17 win over the Washington Commanders, Purdy surpassed Jeff Garcia and Steve Young to register the most passing yards in a single season with 4,280.

In the 16 regular season games he played in, Purdy had a passer rating of 113.0 (the highest in the NFL), 31 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

Playoff football is a different animal though and, after battling past the Packers in the Divisional Round, Purdy and the 49ers looked to be crashing out of the postseason on Championship Sunday at the hands of the Detroit Lions.

The 49ers trailed 24-7 at halftime but Purdy rallied the troops to stage an incredible second-half comeback that saw the home team come away with a 34-31 win.

The QB finish the game with 267 yards passing and 48 more rushing, with 126 of those passing yards coming in the third quarter as the 49ers scored 17 points in an eight-minute span.

Purdy's 315 combined yards passing and rushing were the most ever by a 49ers QB in a conference title game victory.

That performance set up a date with destiny in Super Bowl LVIII, against none other than the reigning champion Chiefs.

Purdy is now just one win away from banishing that 'Mr. Irrelevant' tag forever.

Because now he's very much 'Mr. Relevant' and has the chance to prove it on 11 February in the biggest game of his budding career.