Brock Purdy's first career touchdown pass at the NFL level wasn't anything particularly special. In fact, it was rather nondescript.
The score came from the 3-yard line. Purdy took a shotgun snap and faked a handoff to Christian McCaffrey. Fullback Kyle Juzszcyk broke open on a flat route while that was happening, and Purdy quickly fired it to him.
Juzszcyk took it from there, running it in for the score.
First NFL TD pass for the rookie @brockpurdy13! #FTTB
— NFL (@NFL) December 4, 2022
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Indeed, the touchdown wasn't much to marvel at, but it was more than just the first highlight on Purdy's career reel. It was actually a history-making moment.
He was the first "Mr. Irrelevant" quarterback to throw an NFL touchdown.
The concept of Mr. Irrelevant — the tongue-in-cheek nickname given to the final pick in the NFL Draft – has been around since 1976. Very few of them have turned into successful NFL players, and even fewer quarterbacks have carved out a career after lasting that late into the draft.
Purdy has played sparingly during his NFL career to date, yet he already may be the most notable one of the bunch. Who are the other Mr. Irrelevant quarterbacks? Here's what to know about the distinction that few quarterbacks have earned over the last half-century.
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How many QBs have been Mr. Irrelevant?
Only six quarterbacks have been selected to be Mr. Irrelevant since the NFL Draft's final pick became known by that moniker in 1976.
Before 1976, only one player listed primarily as a quarterback was selected with the final pick in an NFL Draft class. That was George Haffner, who was chosen by the Colts with the 280th pick in the 14th round of the 1965 NFL Draft.
The first Mr. Irrelevant quarterback was Randy Essington, who was selected 336th overall by the Raiders in the 12th round of the 1984 NFL Draft. The most recent Mr. Irrelevant quarterback was Purdy in 2022 (262nd overall).
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List of Mr. Irrelevant quarterbacks
Below is the list of the six quarterbacks who have been Mr. Irrelevant since 1976.
| Year | Player | Selection | Team | College |
| 1984 | Randy Essington | 336 | Raiders | Colorado |
| 1991 | Larry Wanke | 334 | Giants | John Carroll |
| 1999 | Ronnie McAda | 240 | Packers | Navy |
| 2012 | Chandler Harnish | 253 | Colts | Northern Illinois |
| 2017 | Chad Kelly | 253 | Broncos | Ole Miss |
| 2022 | Brock Purdy | 262 | 49ers | Iowa State |
Of the six quarterbacks, four never played a snap at the NFL level — Essington, Wanke, McAda and Harnish. Thus, they never accumulated any NFL stats.
Meanwhile, Kelly, the nephew of former Bills star Jim Kelly, played a single snap for the Broncos in 2018. He took a knee on the play and lost a yard, giving him one career carry for negative-1 yards.
As such, Purdy has already established himself as the best Mr. Irrelevant quarterback of all time. He has completed 45 of 67 career passes (67.2 percent) for 461 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.
Purdy is also the only Mr. Irrelevant to start and win a game at quarterback. He led the 49ers to a 35-7 win over Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in Week 14 of the 2022 NFL season.
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Brock Purdy draft
Purdy was selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, which was considered to be one of the weakest quarterback classes of the last couple of decades. In total, just nine passers were selected during the draft, the second-fewest selected since 2000 (only seven quarterbacks were drafted in 2015).
| Round | Pick | Player | Team | College |
| 1 | 20 | Kenny Pickett | Steelers | Pitt |
| 3 | 74 | Desmond Ridder | Falcons | Cincinnati |
| 3 | 86 | Malik Willis | Titans | Liberty |
| 3 | 94 | Matt Corral | Panthers | Ole Miss |
| 4 | 137 | Bailey Zappe | Patriots | Western Kentucky |
| 5 | 144 | Sam Howell | Commanders | UNC |
| 7 | 241 | Chris Oladokun | Steelers | South Dakota State |
| 7 | 247 | Skylar Thompson | Dolphins | Kansas State |
| 7 | 262 | Brock Purdy | 49ers | Iowa State |
Purdy was selected with the final pick after he put together a solid four-year career at Iowa State. He enjoyed a strong senior season that saw him complete a career-best 71.7 percent of his passes while leading to a 7-6 record that included a win over No. 8-ranked Oklahoma State.
MORE: Most successful, famous Mr. Irrelevants in NFL history
Below is a look at Purdy's year-by-year stats while with the Cyclones.
| Year | Comp. % | Pass yards | Pass TDs | INTs | Rush yards | Rush TDs |
| 2019 | 66.4 | 2,250 | 16 | 7 | 305 | 5 |
| 2020 | 65.7 | 3,982 | 27 | 9 | 249 | 8 |
| 2021 | 66.6 | 2,750 | 19 | 9 | 382 | 5 |
| 2022 | 71.7 | 3,188 | 19 | 8 | 238 | 1 |
| Total | 67.7 | 12,170 | 81 | 33 | 1,177 | 19 |
Purdy had once gotten buzz as a potential early-round pick after his stellar sophomore campaign. However, he didn't quite develop as some had hoped, and he had issues, at times, with interceptions.
As such, teams viewed him as more of a backup-type prospect. There were questions about whether he would be drafted or become a high-priority undrafted free agent.
Ultimately, the 49ers spent the 262nd pick on him to become the team's third-string quarterback. He will now be the starter with Lance and Garoppolo out, and he will join Pickett, Willis, Zappe and Thompson as the members of his quarterback class to start a game.
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Was Tom Brady Mr. Irrelevant?
Tom Brady was not Mr. Irrelevant the year that he was drafted. Brady was selected with the 199th overall pick, which came in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. That's later than most starting quarterbacks end up going, but there were 55 selections after Brady in that draft class.
Brady wasn't even the last quarterback selected in the 2000 NFL Draft. Five quarterbacks were selected after him. They were as follows:
- Todd Husak, Washington
- Ja'Juan Seider, Chargers
- Tim Rattay, 49ers
- Jarious Jackson, Broncos
- Joe Hamilton, Buccaneers
Of the bunch, only Rattay panned out as a career backup.
The actual Mr. Irrelevant pick in the 2000 NFL Draft was made by the Bears. They selected defensive back Mike Greene out of Northwestern State.
Greene is one of the most successful Mr. Irrelevants ever, as he appeared in 104 games with 48 starts over eight NFL seasons. He totaled 434 career tackles, four interceptions, 27 pass defenses, seven forced fumbles and six sacks while playing for Chicago, Seattle and Washington.
