In the lead-up to this weekend’s NFC championship, it’s advised not to turn the matchup between a No. 1 draft pick and Mr. Irrelevant into a drinking game—lest you black out before the second quarter.
The NFC’s top two teams are led by quarterbacks with divergent draft paths—former No. 1 pick Jared Goff of Detroit and former dead-last pick Brock Purdy of San Francisco. Despite the extremes in their draft selections, both find themselves one win away from the Super Bowl, showcasing the unpredictability of the NFL draft.
While Goff and Purdy’s journey to this point speaks to their talent and determination, it also reflects the impact of coaching and offensive schemes, raising questions about the scouting and draft analysis processes.
Goff, the No. 1 overall pick in 2016, experienced two distinct chapters in his career. The first, with the Rams, started fast but ended on a sour note. The current chapter, a renaissance in Detroit, underscores his resilience and adaptability. Goff’s trajectory from the top pick to leading the Lions in the 2023-season NFC championship is more of a dip into and a surge out of a deep canyon than a straight line.
On the other hand, Purdy, despite a successful four-year stint at Iowa State, went unnoticed in the 2022 draft. Picked dead last at No. 262, eight quarterbacks were selected ahead of him. Today, Purdy stands as a testament to the unpredictability of NFL scouting and draft projections. Hindsight reveals that draft grades below a B-minus might not capture the full potential of players, as today’s questionable misfit could become tomorrow’s Pro Bowler.
The pressure of being the No. 1 pick is vastly different from that felt by Mr. Irrelevant. However, once the season begins, and especially in the playoffs, where a quarterback came from matters less than where they can lead their team next. Goff and Purdy embody this truth, showcasing the unpredictable journey of quarterbacking in the NFL.
