Brock Purdy's rapid ascension not only changed the 49ers' trajectory, but also how the NFL world evaluates the sport's most important position.
Purdy -- selected by San Francisco with the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft -- led the league with 9.6 yards per attempt in his first full-season as a starting quarterback, piloting the 49ers' offense to a Super Bowl berth in his second professional season.
During a conference call on Thursday, NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah broke down how Purdy's meteoric rise altered how he analyzes college quarterbacks, pointing out a pair of prospects in the 2024 draft class who could benefit from the philosophy shift inspired by the 49ers' signal-caller.
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"Right now it seems to be there's a lot of talk and chatter about guys that have experience and have played a lot of games," Jeremiah explained. "Brock Purdy is kind of the poster child for that.
"Guys that have been in college for a while, you're not going to get the time to develop in the NFL that maybe you would previously because the financial commitment isn't as big. It's easier for teams to cycle through guys, throw them out there for two years, it doesn't work, we can flush them and go on to the next one.
"You want them once they get on the field and they have to get on the field early to have some more experience under their belt, and that's been something I think people have given more credence to the last couple of years is the guys who have some starts, which in this draft it's interesting because you've got [University of Oregon QB Bo] Nix and [University of Washington QB Michael] Penix who have just played a ton of football.
"People can talk about where the ceiling is for these guys or how much growth there is. These guys are ready to play. They're going to step in and have a chance to start right away, and it's not going to be too big for them because of all the experience that they have. That's kind of one of the trends I would say that's come up a lot lately."
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Purdy appeared in 48 games during his four-year career at Iowa State, leading the Cyclones to a winning record in each season during his tenure. That included a 9-3 record during the 2020 NCAA season, which Purdy capped off with offensive MVP honors in a 34-17 win over Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl.
The large body of work Purdy amassed in college undoubtedly played a role in his ability to quickly transition to professional football, opening the door for quarterbacks with a lengthy college resume that NFL teams might have otherwise overlooked due to a perceived lack of physical attributes.
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