The San Francisco 49ers selected Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke with the No. 217 pick of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Rourke spent the first five seasons of his career at Ohio before transferring to Indiana last season, helping the Hoosiers reach the College Football Playoff. He set a school single-season record with 31 touchdowns. For his career, rourke started 46 games and threw for 10,682 yards and 79 touchdowns against 21 interceptions. He was a second-team All-Big 10 selection for Indiana.
‘The Beast’ breakdown
Rourke ranked No. 228 in Dane Brugler’s top 300 big board. Here’s what Brugler had to say about him in his annual NFL Draft guide:
“When in structure, Rourke delivers with anticipation, pace and placement and is at his best on isolation routes, especially back shoulders and sideline bucket throws. Though fearless in the pocket, his struggles start to pop up when forced to move from his spot, which leads to lower-body mechanical issues and inaccuracy — he completed just 57 percent of his passes and averaged 163 passing yards against the three best defenses on the 2024 schedule (Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State). Overall, Rourke is a good-sized pocket passer who will push the ball downfield when everything stays on schedule, but his average mobility will be tough to mask against NFL defenses. He is a potential Aidan O’Connell-level backup, if he stays healthy.”
How he fits
The 49ers, who like to go through the offseason with four quarterbacks, had only three heading into the draft: Brock Purdy, Mac Jones and Tanner Mordecai, who went undrafted last year. Rourke is a tall (6-4) pocket passer who threw 29 touchdowns against just five interceptions last year at Indiana. The 49ers made a mistake in 2021 by drafting a quarterback, Trey Lance, with few pass attempts. Rourke has attempted 1,267 over the past five seasons.
Depth-chart impact
Whether Rourke can make a push for the 53-man roster this season remains unknown. He tore his right ACL in August and played through the injury with the help of a brace on his knee. He played in all but one game last year — he sat out due to a thumb injury — but a January knee surgery forced him to miss all of the pre-draft workouts and all-star games.
They also could have picked …
As the seventh round began, the 49ers still hadn’t taken an offensive lineman. One of the ones they liked, USC’s Jonah Monheim, went six picks earlier to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The team also had a shot at Kansas tackle Logan Brown, who didn’t allow any sacks or quarterback hits last season. Others who seemed like good 49ers fits included tight ends Jalin Conyers (Texas Tech) and Ben Yurosek (Georgia) and receivers Nick Nash (San Jose State) and Ricky White (UNLV).
Fast evaluation
Rourke fits the mold for a Kyle Shanahan quarterback in that he’s accurate — 69.4 percent completion percentage last year — and, due in large part to his knee injury, learned how to play out of the pocket last season. He might be headed for a de facto redshirt season in San Francisco, but his traits, demeanor and the offense he played in with the Hoosiers give him a good shot at sticking around.
(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
Matt Barrows is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the 49ers. He joined The Athletic in 2018 and has covered the 49ers since 2003. He was a reporter with The Sacramento Bee for 19 years, four of them as a Metro reporter. Before that he spent two years in South Carolina with The Hilton Head Island Packet. Follow Matt on Twitter @MattBarrows
