The San Francisco 49ers are just one win away from capturing their first Super Bowl title in nearly 30 years, and their former backup quarterback played a bigger role in the recent success than many realize.
CJ Beathard is indirectly responsible for the 49ers landing two of their best players. As a Reddit user pointed out on Thursday, 49ers general manager John Lynch admitted years ago that the team became high on George Kittle while studying film on Beathard ahead of the 2017 NFL Draft. Kittle and Beathard played together at Iowa, which is a program that is not known for its passing attack.
Though Kittle was unable to showcase much of his pass-catching ability at Iowa and did not stand out at the NFL Combine, the 49ers saw enough from him while watching tape on Beathard. San Francisco drafted Beathard in the third round in 2017 and Kittle in the fifth the same year.
And then there’s Brock Purdy. San Francisco drafted their star quarterback with the final pick in the 2022 draft. They acquired that seventh-round selection as a compensatory pick when Beathard signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020.
Purdy has shown in less than two full NFL seasons that he is a franchise quarterback. Kittle is a game-changer who makes San Francisco’s offense even more difficult to stop. Both Purdy and Kittle have been perfect fits for Kyle Shanahan’s system.
If the 49ers beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII, they should probably consider sending a ring to Beathard.
