Padecky: Thanks to Brock Purdy, 49ers didn’t have to sweat out the draft

Now that the 49ers draft is over we can all exhale. Oops, wait a minute, we already have. Days ago. It would be incorrect to say the 49ers draft was as exciting as watching grass grow. It was more like fertilizing the lawn and then having to wait six months to see if anything came up.

All NFL drafts are like this but our attention was not on who was coming but who was going. That Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk weren’t going anywhere - almost felt like a manufactured scenario to hold our interest and we have to thank the 49ers for that - the focus shifted to wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, their first pick, and that sadly was the wrong target.

Thank you, Brock Purdy, for making all this possible. Thank you, Brock The Rock, for making this draft a snoozer. If it wasn’t for you, this 49ers draft would be a panic rush, speculation in the air like fire smoke, people gagging on what the 49ers have to give up to get a quarterback. Of course, they wouldn’t be drafting at No. 31, having just played in a Super Bowl, but more like No. 15, having just finished OK-decent with a team with great talent but no quarterback to lead them.

Of course, this is assuming Trey Lance is still around, the kid who the 49ers gave away everything except the lawn furniture to get two years ago. Clearly the worst trade in 49ers history - three first-round picks only to dump him two years later to Dallas - general manager John Lynch would be carrying an anvil to breakfast, lunch and dinner, his penance.

Instead, we have Brock Purdy, The Savior. Purdy made ‘em forget Lance, made ‘em forget how lucky the 49ers are, the guy who took the anvil off Lynch’s back and threw it in the Bay. Mister Irrelevant is a Pro Bowler! Purdy’s now a franchise quarterback instead of a kid back in his hometown in Chandler, Arizona, with his draft selection newspaper clip in a frame, telling all his mates what it was like to meet Nick Bosa.

It is a storybook, not even a curmudgeon would contest that, and the 49ers would be the first to say sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. In their case, they are doubly blessed. They are both.

They are so well fortified their first pick will be returning punts and kickoffs next season, learning how to handle coach Kyle Shanahan’s legendary microscopic exactitude to be a wide receiver the way he demands it.

It was a supplemental draft the 49ers conducted, the highest form of a compliment to denote the stability of a team. Few teams can claim such comfort and only one other comes readily to mind, the team that beat them in the Super Bowl, Kansas City. The Chiefs’ biggest off-season drama is maybe finding a place to play since Arrowhead Stadium is the Oakland Coliseum of the Midwest. But since John Fisher doesn’t own the Chiefs that team isn’t going anywhere, especially Sacramento.

The 49ers are the cocky guy at the blackjack table who says to the other guys with a smirk when it’s time to take a card, “I’ll play these.” You know he isn’t holding 18. In the 49ers’ case, there’s no subterfuge. Everyone sees their cards.

Nothing lives day-to-day like an NFL team. Injuries, age, circumstance, home life - and I’m just talking about the offseason - all circle the drain of sensitivity. A player may shrug off a head-on tackle like a mosquito bite but that man has feelings, you know. He’s sensitive to disrespect, an unreturned phone call, and a less-than-welcoming hello at the training table.

Football players do their best work when asked to play, not asked if they had a happy childhood. As an example, Atlanta quarterback Kirk Cousins was perplexed when his team used its first draft pick to select Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

Didn’t matter that Cousins had just signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons in March, $100 million of it guaranteed. Shaken, and feeling a little vulnerable, Cousins needed to be reassured. So Atlanta coach Raheem Morris repeatedly told anyone who asked that Cousins’ job was not threatened by the puzzling pick, that an incomplete pass would send him to the bench in favor of Penix.

Didn’t matter Cousins, 35, has been in the NFL for 12 years, was a four-time Pro Bowler and... with all that money. Penix was expected to go in the second round. The Falcons had other needs. Sure, it was unpredictable. But athletes don’t like unpredictable, even if Cousins had 100 million reasons to feel secure. Cousins couldn’t stand pat.

The 49ers’ draft was delightfully boring for just that reason. The earth didn’t move for them and it wasn’t necessary. Money, either now or next year, was going to be an issue. The 49ers are going to pay Brock enough money for him to buy Chandler, Arizona. So some players were going to have to leave because of those salary cap limits.

Better they leave next year, that’s the decision the 49ers made last week. Let’s keep the band together for one more year. Lynch and Shanahan answered calls because, well, doesn’t say much to say Hello. But they didn’t expect much because of this little piece of logic - Who wants to give the San Francisco 49ers more talent?

Unless, of course, the 49ers go stupid and give up a lot for a little. They already did that two years ago. Don’t think they’ll do that again.

Especially now that they have Purdy, who made this year’s Pro Bowl after receiving more votes than any player. Especially since Brock Purdy is the Most Relevant Player the 49ers have.

To comment write to bobpadecky@gmail.com.