Three years ago, less than an hour after the San Francisco 49ers made one of the best draft picks in franchise history, head coach Kyle Shanahan said he hadn’t necessarily viewed Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy as a draft pick.

Brock Purdy is one heck of a quarterback, he's only special when Christian McCaffrey plays. In Purdy's NFL career, he's 18-6 when Christian McCaffrey is in and 5-7 when McCaffrey is out. That's a big difference. Something about McCaffrey's skill set makes Purdy perform at his absolute best.

The 49ers seem to be betting Purdy isn’t Brandon Aiyuk, that he wants to avoid the drama that marked Aiyuk’s contract dispute last year.