The 49ers appear to have landed a steal in the 2022 NFL Draft, given the way that Brock Purdy has played to begin his career.
Purdy, who was Mr. Irrelevant in the 2022 draft, won his first start last week over the Buccaneers and has already established himself as the best Mr. Irrelevant quarterback to ever play.
It didn't take much to do that, but it will take a lot more for him to be considered one of the best seventh-round quarterbacks in NFL history.
It isn't easy to find great quarterbacks late in the NFL Draft. It can be done — as everyone knows from the legend of Tom Brady being picked 199th overall — but hitting home runs in that range is rare.
In the seventh round, teams are more likely to find a solid backup, if anything. If they're lucky, they might find someone who can win enough to start for a season.
It's far too early to say which of these categories Purdy could fall into. That said, in looking at the history of the draft, there are a handful of examples of what the high-end outlook is for a seventh-round passer.
Below are some of the best seventh-round quarterbacks since the modern draft era began in 1970.
MORE: Why Brock Purdy is already the most successful Mr. Irrelevant QB of all time
Best seventh-round quarterbacks
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick is easily the most productive seventh-round quarterback in NFL history. The Harvard product came into the league in 2005 as a Rams draft pick and appeared in 166 games with 147 starts during his journeyman career. No other seventh-round quarterback has started more than 93 games.
During his career, Fitzpatrick completed 60.7 percent of his passes for 34,990 yards, 223 touchdowns and 169 interceptions. He started at least one game for nine different NFL teams over his 17-season career, and while he posted a 59-87-1 record as a starter, his teams were routinely competitive, and he had a 10-6 season with the Jets in 2015.
Fitzpatrick holds the distinction of being the most recent Ivy League quarterback to be selected into the NFL. He is known not only for his intelligence, but also his gunslinger mentality and longevity, which allowed him to play into his age-39 season.
Matt Cassel
Fun fact: Cassel never started a game in college. He went to USC and backed up Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart during his four years there. He completed 20 of 33 passes for 192 yards and an interception during his collegiate career.
Still, Cassel showed enough during the pre-draft process that the Patriots spent a seventh-round pick on him. He became Tom Brady's backup and took off in 2008, when he replaced Brady after the star tore his ACL in Week 1. Cassel's Week 2 start was his first since his senior year of high school in 2000. He led the Patriots to a win in that game and a 10-5 record in 15 starts during the season.
From there, Cassel was traded to the Chiefs, where he served as a starter for the better part of five years. He had a 10-6 season in Kansas City but was eventually replaced by Alex Smith. After that, he bounced around the league as a backup until his retirement following the 2018 season.
Cassel played 14 NFL seasons in total and had a 36-45 record in 81 starts. The pro-style pocket passer completed 58.8 percent of his passes for 17,508 yards, 104 touchdowns and 82 interceptions and played for seven different teams.
Gus Frerotte
Frerotte wasn't particularly accurate during his time in the NFL. He had a career 54.7 completion percentage and exceeded 60 percent just once during his 15 seasons.
However, Frerotte was known for his toughness. He found a way to compete in the NFL and recorded three seasons with at least eight wins as a starter, with three different teams. He made the 1996 Pro Bowl with Washington after leading the team to a 9-7 record and completing 57.4 percent of his passes for 3,453 yards, 12 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Frerotte played for seven different teams and made 93 starts during his career, second-most by a seventh-round pick behind only Fitzpatrick. Given Frerotte's longevity and his latter-year success as a fill-in starter with Miami and Minnesota, it's hard to argue against him as one of the best seventh-round quarterbacks ever.
MORE: Revisiting 49ers' decision to select Brock Purdy as Mr. Irrelevant
Matt Flynn
Flynn probably has the best single game recorded by a seventh-round quarterback. He threw for 480 yards, six touchdowns and one interception for the Packers in his second career start, which came in Week 17 of his fourth season against the Lions.
Flynn was a coveted free agent after that outing and signed with the Seahawks, where he was famously beaten out for a starting job by Russell Wilson. He continued to be a backup for the remainder of his career and made just seven starts, all of which came with Green Bay.
The LSU product completed 61.3 percent of his passes for 2,541 yards, 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 53 games. He had a 3-4 record as a starter.
While Flynn's numbers aren't overly impressive, he will always have a place in history for his performance against the Lions.
Trevor Siemian
Siemian has been solid after being selected in the 2015 draft, but like Flynn, he makes this list largely because he has some history tied to his name.
Peyton Manning retired following the 2015 season, and it was Siemian who was tapped to succeed the Hall of Fame quarterback. He kept the Broncos competitive during the 2016 season, logging an 8-6 record in 14 starts and completing 59.5 percent of his passes for 3,405 yards, 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Siemian fizzled after that, but he remains in the NFL as a backup. He hasn't won a start since 2017, but he has a 13-17 record with a 58.9 completion percentage, 7,027 yards, 42 touchdowns and 28 interceptions. Teams could do worse than Siemian in the seventh round.
Pat Haden
Haden is one of the more interesting quarterbacks on this list. He began his career as a third-stringer with the Rams but eventually climbed to No. 1 due to injuries. The 5-11, 182-pounder played for winning teams with the Rams of the late '70s and early '80s, but he struggled greatly with turnovers thanks, in part, to his smaller-sized hands.
Haden, who was selected by Los Angeles out of USC in the 1975 draft, had a 35-19-1 record with the Rams and was named a Pro Bowler in 1977 after posting an 8-2 record with 1,551 yards, 11 touchdowns and six interceptions. That was one of just two seasons during which Haden had more touchdowns than interceptions.
Overall, Haden threw for 9,296 yards in 65 games (55 starts) but completed just 53.6 percent of his passes. He also had just 52 touchdowns to 60 career picks. He retired during his age-28 season because of injuries and went to the broadcast booth with CBS.
MORE: Joe Montana thinks Brock Purdy can lead 49ers to a Super Bowl
Koy Detmer
The Eagles took a flier on Detmer in the 1997 draft in the hope that he might develop into a useful player. He never became a starter, but he was a valuable asset for Philadelphia as a backup for eight years.
Detmer started just eight career games (3-5 record), completed 52 percent of his passes and threw for 1,944 yards, 10 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Those numbers are hardly inspiring, but he dressed for the Eagles in 103 games from 1997 to 2006.
Why? Because Philadelphia viewed him as a solid backup and a great holder for their kicking unit. That may not be what teams hope to get from a Round 7 quarterback, but he at least carved out a role for himself during an 11-year career.
Tim Rattay
Rattay owns the distinction of being the only quarterback selected after Tom Brady in the 2000 draft who panned out. The 49ers pick spent his first three seasons as a backup before being given a chance to start a few games in 2003.
The results weren't bad. He posted a 2-1 record and by the end of the season he had totaled 1,105 passing yards, nine touchdowns and just two interceptions while completing 62.2 percent of his passes. The 49ers were willing to let him compete for the starting job.
Things fell apart after that. Rattay went 3-12 over the next three seasons before flaming out of the league. Still, he wasn't a bad backup for a time and the 40 games he dressed for are the 12th-most ever by a seventh-round QB.
