49ers bet on Kurtis Rourke’s toughness and talent with seventh-round selection

Kurtis Rourke’s journey from Oakville, Ontario, to the NFL took its next big step Saturday when the San Francisco 49ers selected the former Indiana quarterback with the No. 227 overall pick in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Rourke became the second Hoosier drafted this year, following defensive tackle C.J. West, who was taken by the 49ers in the fourth round. The selection marks a historic moment — Rourke is the first Indiana quarterback picked since Nate Sudfeld in 2016 and the first Canadian quarterback drafted since Jesse Palmer in 2001.

“I love the situation,” Rourke told reporters via Zoom after his name was called. “The offense is so dynamic. I think it has a lot of similarities to last year at Indiana in the way they move the ball and the different types of ways to attack defenses.”

It’s hard to understate Rourke’s impact on Indiana in his lone season with the program. After transferring from Ohio University, Rourke led Indiana to its first 10-win season and a historic berth in the College Football Playoff.

He set program records for touchdown passes (29) and completion percentage (69.4%), while throwing for 3,042 yards and posting a national-best 181.4 passer rating.

All that would have been impressive enough — but Rourke’s story took on an entirely different layer when it was revealed he played the entire 2024 season on a partially torn ACL.

“I’m in a really good spot,” Rourke said regarding his recovery after undergoing surgery following the season. “I’m really excited about where I am.”

The 49ers knew about Rourke’s injury and still felt strongly enough about his potential to make him a late-round priority.

“[Rourke was] a guy that we really liked and I think displayed a lot of his toughness — he played a lot of the year on a partially torn ACL,” 49ers general manager John Lynch said. “We took him with the understanding that he’s not gonna likely be cleared until training camp — but we just felt like there was a lot of talent, a lot of ability.”

Lynch added, “The guy plays the game the right way. You can’t have enough good quarterbacks, and we wanted to add him to the mix, and were able to add him in the seventh round and excited to do so.”

The connection between Rourke and San Francisco didn’t just materialize on draft day. He spoke multiple times with the 49ers’ staff during the pre-draft process, including a one-on-one meeting with quarterbacks coach Mick Lombardi.

“I spoke to [San Francisco] a good amount of times,” Rourke said. “I definitely had good conversations with them leading up to [the draft].”

Now, Rourke will be coached by Kyle Shanahan, one of the NFL’s most respected offensive minds, after playing under Mike Shanahan (no relation) during his record-breaking season at Indiana.

“Coach Shanahan has developed a great offense and I’m excited to be a part of it,” Rourke said. “The way that the 49ers motion a ton, the vertical passing game, and being able to mix things up with all the talent they have on offense — I think it relates a lot to Indiana and what we did last year with all of our playmakers.”

San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan echoed the team’s excitement about Rourke’s potential.

“Loved his size. Loved how he throws. Loved how he plays the position,” Shanahan said. “Just especially watching him this year, I don’t think it was coincidence how good of a year [Indiana] had with the type of quarterback they had.”

“Thought it was just a very good, valuable pick for us for a guy who might not be ready for another year because I think he’s about seven months out [from surgery] because he got done after the season,” Shanahan added. “We were in a situation where we could take him, and I think he would’ve gone a lot higher if he were healthy.”

Rourke also lands in a situation that breeds hope for late-round quarterbacks. The 49ers’ current starter, Brock Purdy, was famously the last pick of the 2022 draft and has since developed into one of the NFL’s more consistent signal-callers. For Rourke, that’s an encouraging blueprint.

The next chapter is just beginning — and if his college career is any indication, the 49ers might have found another late-round gem ready to defy the odds.

Check out Rourke’s full Zoom press conference with the media below.

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