John Lynch Credits Two People for the 49ers Drafting Brock Purdy

The 49ers would likely be in a bad state if it weren't for them drafting Brock Purdy two years ago. General manager John Lynch reveals the two people who deserve significant credit for why they ended up taking him.

September 18, 2022; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks coach Brian / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

One of the main reasons the San Francisco 49ers have a chance of returning to the Super Bowl in 2024 is because of Brock Purdy.

Without him, the 49ers do not get as far as they have the last two seasons. The arrow is pointing up for him with next season being an intriguing one to see how much better he can get now that he gets an actual offseason to work on himself and not rehab.

The 49ers should feel extremely lucky to have drafted him with the last pick in the 2022 NFL draft. Head coach Kyle Shanahan is usually the one in charge of picking the players, but as the rounds get later, he doesn't really put much of his finger prints. That includes drafting Purdy.

On a recent interview with Pat McAfee, general manager John Lynch revealed the two people deserving of credit for why the 49ers drafted Purdy.

"I think two people deserve so much credit for Brock Purdy and one of them now is in our pro department. He goes by the name of Steve Slowik," said Lynch. "Steve was the college scout that we go through Iowa State. We thought Brock might come out into the league before. We had high grades on him, but Steve was a guy who had the benefit of going into that school. Steve would always come to these draft meetings and just speak so glowingly about Brock and the culture changer he was."

Yes, he is the brother of current Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik who was the former 49ers passing game coordinator. Arguably the best trait of Shanahan is knowing how to pick coaches as both Slowiks have heavily contributed in the success for the 49ers.

"Steve was very integral in that process The other guy I'd say was Brian Griese," said Lynch. "Brian was incredibly impressed once we gave Brian to him and said 'Hey, get on these zooms with him. Start talking to Brock.' And Griese came back extremely convicted.

When Griese was hired, he was initially brought on to help Trey Lance with the mental aspect of the game. He never really got to showcase his coaching skills there, but he made up for it by becoming infatuated with Purdy during the draft process.

Shanahan and Lynch should give Slowik and Griese half of their salary for one year. If it wasn't for them, Purdy doesn't get drafted and the 49ers end up hurting for years after the blunder for Lance.