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When the NFL Wild Card Weekend kicks off Saturday, two of the central figures will be rookies.
It’s not a stretch to suggest the game will turn on which one has the better day when the 49ers (13-4) host the Seattle Seahawks (8-8) at Levi’s Stadium.
Neither 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy nor Seattle running back Kenneth Walker III was a first-round draft pick. Purdy, of course, was the final selection in the seventh round, No. 262 overall. Walker didn’t have to wait nearly as long, with Seattle taking the Michigan State back in the second round at No. 41.
Both have generated some buzz for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Although Purdy was the ProFootballTalk.com choice for Offensive Rookie of the Year, he likely won’t get more than also-ran notice for the official Associated Press award given that he’s made (and won) just five starts and played a major role in another win.
Purdy is brushing aside all talk of individual honors with a playoff game coming up.
“I don’t try to get wrapped up in any of that kind of stuff,” Purdy said Wednesday. “I’ve got to win. As good as a team as we have, I’ve got to come in and do my job and let everything else fall into place. Whoever wins it, great. I’m just trying to be where my feet are at.”
Heading into the finale, Walker told reporters roughly the same thing.
“I feel like I’m hitting a stride, but I’m just staying focused on the team and not individual accolades,” Walker said.
Walker stands with wide receivers Garrett Wilson of the New York Jets and Chris Olave of New Orleans in a race without a clear-cut favorite. The AP award is voted on by a panel of 50 sports media members and concluded Tuesday, with selectors ranking three candidates in a weighted system. The winner won’t be announced until NFL Honors Night the weekend of the Super Bowl.
Awards are nothing new to Walker, who won both the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back and the Walter Camp Award as the national player of the year after his junior year at Michigan State. After transferring from Wake Forest, Walker gained 1,636 yards with the Spartans before coming out for the draft.
Purdy has already made a couple All-Rookie teams at quarterback (PFF, Pro Football Journal) over Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett, having completed 67.1 percent of his passes (114 of 170) for 1,374 yards and 13 touchdowns with four interceptions. He’s been the picture of poise since taking over after Jimmy Garoppolo broke his foot on Dec. 4
“That’s why this draft stuff is an inexact science, Seattle defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt told reporters. “He doesn’t get fazed or rattled, is cool and collected in the pocket, he can rely on the run game and the players around him and has executed at a high level since he’s been in there.”
Walker closed with a rush to finish with 1,050 yards and nine touchdowns and joined Curt Warner as the only two rookie running backs to gain 1,000 yards in Seattle history.
He has 100-plus yards in his last three games — the last two of which the Seahawks had to win to stay in the postseason race. Walker had 78 carries for 354 yards over the last three games, and Seattle coach Pete Carroll would like nothing better than to load Walker up with another 25-plus on Saturday.
Arriving as a lateral-cut runner along the lines of Le’Veon Bell, Walker has flourished since heeding a directive from Carroll at halftime of a Week 16 loss to Kansas City. With 16 yards on nine carries in the first half against the Chiefs, Carroll challenged Walker to cut less and be more aggressive. He had 91 yards on 17 carries in the second half and more than 100 yards in each of the last two games.
Not a major factor in either regular-season game against the 49ers, Walker carried four times for 10 yards in Week 2 and 12 times for 47 yards in Week 15 after sitting out a week with an ankle injury.
The 49ers’ top-ranked defense includes giving up just 77.7 yards per game and 3.4 yards per carry on the ground, the best figures in the league.
The Seahawks’ path to victory, along with winning the turnover battle, would entail winning in two areas that the 49ers consider their strength — running the ball and stopping the run.
Stopping the run would be forcing Purdy to to pass more frequently. He’s thrown more than 30 passes only twice, going 25 of 37 for 210 yards off the bench against Miami and 22 of 35 for 284 yards in an overtime win against the Raiders.
Purdy started the second game against Seattle on a Thursday night with an oblique strain that almost prevented him from playing. After having barely thrown the ball on a short week, he was 17 of 26 for 217 yards and two touchdowns the night the 49ers wrapped up the NFC West.
“I had the whole rib thing going on,” Purdy said. “I feel a lot better. I’m excited about that, but I was definitely hurting for that game.”
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