Former Pro Bowler rips scouts for passing over Brock Purdy

Thirty-one teams passed on Brock Purdy in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Now he’s just one win away from becoming the first rookie QB to lead his team to a Super Bowl and former Carolina Panthers Pro Bowl receiver Steve Smith is wondering why so many teams whiffed in their scouting of the 23-year-old Iowa State alum.

“What Brock Purdy has been able to do in these last eight games is what some of these former first-round draft picks have not been able to do,” Smith said on a recent appearance on the “Cut To It” podcast. “… Brock Purdy has shown us he can play in this league. But yet, we’ve got other first-round draft picks who’ve shown us they can’t play in this league but get opportunity after opportunity after opportunity. … You know how it happened? Newsflash: scouts are scared to put their name on it.”

Smith also stated that scouts are too hyper-focused on players from big-name schools, which causes them to overlook more talented players from smaller schools. He named New York Jets QB Zach Wilson and former first-round picks Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen as examples of high draft picks wasted due to large-school bias.