Best part of 49ers QB’s pre-game interview came after it ended

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy got the pregame ESPN profile treatment Monday ahead of the Niners’ Week 7 clash against the Minnesota Vikings, and try as he might, newly minted ESPN analyst Alex Smith couldn’t get much out of the platitude-loving signal-caller.

“Highlights” from a sit-down interview with Smith included the following revelations:

—  It was motivating for Purdy to be picked last in the draft.

—  It’s an honor for him to be a 49ers quarterback.

—  He has to pinch himself sometimes.

—  He never wants to lose.

—  It’s “huge” to play in a Monday Night Football game.

Fun times. Really the only enlightening thing to come out of the interview came after it was over via a comment from Smith, who played quarterback for the Niners for eight years after being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft.

“You heard Troy (Aikman) mention it earlier. All of this talk about Brock Purdy being a ‘system QB,’ you won’t find any QBs making that kind of noise. And I think you and I agree on this,” Smith said to ESPN co-analyst Robert Griffin III. “There are certain traits you have to have to play quarterback in the National Football League, and Brock Purdy has them.”

And Smith has a really good point there — you’d be hard-pressed to find a former NFL quarterback calling Purdy a “system QB.” The loudest banger of the “system QB” drum to date has been former tight end/current hot take machine Shannon Sharpe, who had an entire news cycle dedicated to his Purdy thoughts.

Super Bowl champions Aaron Rodgers, Troy Aikman, Kurt Warner — they’ve all been wildly complimentary of Mr. Irrelevant.

“He isn’t a system quarterback any more than any of the other great quarterbacks out there,” Griffin III said. “… Name me a system that doesn’t require a quarterback to throw with timing and rhythm. That doesn’t require him to read a defense. Brock Purdy can do all of those things, so we got to stop labeling him that way just because he’s not the tallest guy or doesn’t have the strongest arm.”

It was one of the most lucid points from RGIII of the pregame, followed very quickly by him offering up one of the weirdest Purdy comparisons to date, saying the Niners quarterback was a “perfect combination” of him and Kirk Cousins. Griffin and Cousins, of course, were both drafted by Washington in 2012 and coached by the Shanahans (with Mike as the head coach and current 49ers head coach Kyle as offensive coordinator). 

Kickoff Monday from Minnesota was set for 5:15 p.m. Pacific time.