The 49ers likely hoped Brock Purdy would be a sufficient game-manager when he took over as the starting quarterback after Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a broken foot in Week 13 against the Miami Dolphins.
However, little did the 49ers know their rookie quarterback would now be mentioned among the top young signal-callers in the NFL. After witnessing the Iowa State product's performance in his first NFL playoff game, NBC Sports Bay Area's Donte Whitner offered a spicy hot take.
"Brock Purdy put on a historic performance against the Seattle Seahawks," Whitner said during his "Hitner's Hot Take" segment. "Over 300 yards passing and four touchdowns, I'm going to go ahead and say it right now, Brock Purdy is a top-five quarterback in this year's playoffs."
Purdy completed 18 of 30 passes for 332 yards with three touchdown passes while adding another score on the ground in the 49ers' 41-23 NFC Wild-Card Round win over the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday at Levi's Stadium.
The production from Purdy on Super Wild Card Weekend has Whitner firmly believing that the 23-year-old is better right now than a lot of veteran quarterbacks who made the postseason.
"I'm going to go No. 1 Patrick Mahomes, No. 2 Jalen Hurts, No. 3 Josh Allen, No. 4 [Joe] Burrow and No. 5, and yes, in front of [Justin] Herbert from the Los Angeles Chargers, I'm putting Brock Purdy," Whitner said.
San Francisco 49ers
Find the latest San Francisco 49ers news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
RELATED: Brock Purdy's playoff jitters, emotions show 49ers rookie's love for football
Among the other quarterbacks who qualified for the playoffs, Whitner puts Purdy ahead of Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott, Tamp Bay Buccaneers' Tom Brady and Jacksonville Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence.
Purdy has set the bar high for himself for the NFC Divisional Playoff game against either the Buccaneers or Cowboys on Sunday at Levi's Stadium. Nonetheless, as Purdy has shown since becoming the starter, expect the unexpected with Mr. Irrelevant.