Brock Purdy will be the first Mr. Irrelevant, the last player selected in the NFL Draft, to start at quarterback in a Super Bowl.
But the San Francisco 49ers’ second-year QB is far from the first long shot to lead his team to big games.
Here’s a look at the other unannounced quarterbacks who will start in the Super Bowl.
brad johnson
No other player has gone from being the last pick in the draft to under center in the Super Bowl, but Purdy isn’t the last draft pick.
That honor went to Brad Johnson, who was drafted 227th overall by the Minnesota Vikings in 1992, when the draft was in the 12th round instead of the current 7th round.
The ninth-round pick spent five years with the Vikings before moving on to Washington and Tampa Bay, where he led the Buccaneers to the Super Bowl in 2003, where the Bucs defeated the Raiders.
kurt warner
The ultimate football underdog story, Warner went undrafted out of Northern Iowa, played in the Arena Football League and NFL Europe, worked as a grocery store clerk, and became the most dominant player in NFL history in the St. He went so far as to lead one of the best offenses. Lewis Rams as part of The Turf’s Greatest Show.
Warner became the only undrafted player in history to win Super Bowl MVP and NFL MVP.
In 1999, he replaced the injured Trent Green in the preseason and had a dominant year, leading the Rams to a Super Bowl victory over the Tennessee Titans.
Jake Delorme
Like Warner, Delhomme went undrafted out of college and was limited to the New Orleans Saints’ practice squad and in NFL Europe before breaking out with the Carolina Panthers in 2003.
Delhomme and Carolina made it to the Super Bowl that season, and although Delhomme played well, the Panthers fell short against the New England Patriots thanks to Adam Vinatieri’s game-winning field goal.
tom brady
Speaking of the Patriots, before Tom Brady became the greatest quarterback of all time, he was drafted in the sixth round (199th overall) out of the University of Michigan and sat on the bench for virtually his entire rookie season.
Brady didn’t become a starter until his second year when Drew Bledsoe was knocked out by Jets linebacker Mo Lewis in the second game of the season.
The rest is history – and Brady’s history began that season with a 2002 victory over the St. Louis Rams.
Mark Rypien
The former Washington Redskins QB was drafted in the sixth round (146th overall) in 1986 and spent most of his first two years on injured reserve.
Rypien replaced Doug Williams as a full-time starter in 1989 and led Washington to a Super Bowl victory over the Buffalo Bills in 1992, where he was also named Super Bowl MVP.
Jeff Hostetler
Hostetler started just two games in his first four seasons with the Giants before Phil Sims left the team midway through the season in Week 14 of 1986.
Hostetler and the Giants upset the Bills and won their second Super Bowl.
david woodley
Woodley was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the eighth round (214th overall) of the 1980 draft, and was in his third season when Miami reached the Super Bowl, losing to Washington in 1983.
doug williams
The former first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers played in the USFL and returned to the NFL in 1986 with the Washington Redskins.
Williams started just two games in the 1987 regular season, but was named the starter by Joe Gibbs over Jay Schroder in the playoffs.
Williams threw for 331 yards, a then-Super Bowl record, and was named Super Bowl MVP.
nick falls
A third-round pick of the Eagles in 2012, he returned to Philadelphia in 2017 to replace Carson Wentz, who was injured during the season.
Foles was named Super Bowl MVP after the Eagles’ victory over New England.
matt hasselbeck
The former Boston College quarterback was a sixth-round pick of the Green Bay Packers in 1998 and played in the Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks in 2006, losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Rex Grossman
A first-round pick by Chicago in 2003, Grossman didn’t start as a rookie and missed most of the next two years with injury.
In 2006, his only season as a full-time starter, Grossman led the Bears to the Super Bowl despite having 20 interceptions in the regular season.
Chicago lost to the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl.
chris chandler
Chandler was on the sixth team when he and the Atlanta Falcons reached the Super Bowl in 1999, but lost to the Denver Broncos.
