Since the San Francisco 49ers traded for Christian McCaffrey during the middle of the 2022 season, a lot has changed for the team. The first weekend after the 49ers traded for McCaffrey, San Francisco was 3-4. After, they won every regular game for the rest of the year, and became Super Bowl contenders.

More notably, the 49ers' quarterback situation drastically changed. After going into the year with Trey Lance and then Jimmy Garoppolo, an injury to Garoppolo forced the 49ers to turn to Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy. Now, Lance and Garoppolo are no longer with the team while Purdy is the starter. However, Purdy was a ‘nobody' when McCaffrey first arrived.

“To be honest, I wasn’t 100 percent focused on who this guy even was,” McCaffrey said about meeting Purdy. “This guy could’ve been anyone. I was just so dialed in on trying to learn the plays,” via David Lombardi of The Athletic.

On the other end, Purdy was in awe meeting McCaffrey. The young rookie got the chance to help McCaffrey learn the playbook when he arrived in SF.

“I’m like, ‘Man, this is what greatness looks like,’” Purdy said. “I could tell just by the look in his eyes. When we were walking out to the field, he was determined. He wasn’t joking around or anything. He was just all business. And I was like, ‘Man, this guy’s for real.'”

“We got out to the field and I was telling him about the running back tracks, checks and concepts. And the whole time, he wasn’t trying to big league me or anything. He was listening and willing to learn. That was huge for me. This guy’s different for a reason, and I could tell from his work ethic,” via Lombardi.

A little over a year later, Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey are the faces of one of the NFL's best offenses and teams. In their second seasons with the 49ers, the two are far beyond learning the playbook, and instead working to bring home the sixth Super Bowl win to San Francisco.