Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Patrick Mahomes is only 28 years old, but his Super Bowl LVIII counterpart Brock Purdy views him as an elder statesman.
Purdy highlighted his admiration for Mahomes after the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs clinched Super Bowl berths over the weekend.
"It's gonna be sweet," Purdy said, per Peter King of NBC Sports. "Very cool. Been watching that guy since I was in high school, really. The way he's taken over the NFL, it's been fun to watch. To have an opportunity to go up against him for a Super Bowl? Doesn't get any better than that. Does it?"
Mahomes is just four years Purdy's senior, but the two never overlapped at the high school or college level, so it's easy for Purdy to see Mahomes as an elder.
It's hard to not admire the Kansas City quarterback as he wrested the AFC quarterback throne away from Tom Brady, with Chiefs well on their way to being the Patriots of this era. The Chiefs will be making their fourth Super Bowl appearance in five seasons, and Kansas City has made the conference championship in each of Mahomes' six years as a starter.
NFL @NFLBrock Purdy keeps on doing damage with his legs!<br><br>📺: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DETvsSF?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DETvsSF</a> on FOX<br>📱: Stream on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFLPlus?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NFLPlus</a> <a href="https://t.co/lPi4pqPzJT">pic.twitter.com/lPi4pqPzJT</a>
Purdy is in his second season as an NFL starter, and it's hard to get off to a much better start. The 49ers are 21-5 in games started by Purdy over the last two seasons (including playoffs), and we might be looking at a repeat Super Bowl matchup if he hadn't gotten hurt in last year's NFC Championship Game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
While their careers are off to stellar starts, Purdy and Mahomes could not have been more different in the way they entered the league. Mahomes was a highly touted first-round pick, whereas Purdy was literally the last pick in the 2022 NFL draft.
"It's been a roller coaster, really," Purdy said of his first two seasons. "You finish your senior year in college. You get drafted last. Um, you think maybe there's no shot to get drafted, then all of a sudden, there is.
"You make the team. You're a backup. Then you're getting thrown in. Then obviously you're one win away from going to the Super Bowl your rookie year. You tear your arm. You go through the rehab process. You make it back.
"You go through some good times in the season. You go through some times that are tough, with the three losses we had in a row, and [four-interception] performance against Baltimore on Christmas Day. It's a roller coaster, man. I've just tried to do my best to take it one day at a time and be where my feet are at, whether it's going good or not. I'm not defined by my circ*mstances. More than anything, I just try to have a grateful mindset. That's allowed me to enjoy this last year and a half."
Super Bowl LVIII will kick off at 6:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 11.
