Humorous honor given to the last player selected in the NFL draft
Brock Purdy was selected as Mr. Irrelevant in 2022.
Mr. Irrelevant is the nickname given to the person drafted with the final pick of an NFL draft. Most players drafted with the very last draft pick do not even end up playing in an actual NFL game, let alone go on to having successful careers in the NFL. Oftentimes, a player chosen with this pick is released from the team that drafted them before preseason or training camps begin. Some notable exceptions include Jacque MacKinnon, Ryan Succop, and Brock Purdy.
"Irrelevant Week" founder Paul Salata as a rookie with the San Francisco 49ers in 1949.
"Mr. Irrelevant" and "Irrelevant Week" began in 1976 when former USC and pro football receiver Paul Salata founded the event in Newport Beach, California. Salata had himself had a short and "irrelevant" career in professional football, playing the 1949 AAFC season as a member of the San Francisco 49ers and in the 1950 NFL season for the first Baltimore Colts, and sought to bring attention to other unlauded players for whom a professional career was likely to be fleeting.[1]
Originally organized by Salata and fellow members of the Balboa Bay Club,[1] after each draft the new Mr. Irrelevant — last player selected in the annual NFL draft — and his family are invited to spend a week during the summer in Newport Beach. A trip to Disneyland, a golf tournament featuring a main foursome consisting of the highest-handicapped golfers from each of four neighboring courses,[1]aNo Start/No Finish regatta,[1]aroast giving advice to the new draftee, and a ceremony awarding him the Lowsman Trophy are traditional activities associated with "Irrelevant Week". The trophy mimics the Heisman Trophy but depicts a player fumbling a football.[2]
"Irrelevant Week" gave so much publicity to "Mr. Irrelevant" that in 1979 the Los Angeles Rams, with the penultimate pick, intentionally passed to let the Pittsburgh Steelers, with the last pick, choose first. The Steelers also wanted the publicity and passed as well. The two teams continued to refuse to choose a player until NFL CommissionerPete Rozelle forced the teams to pick, with the Steelers winning the pick. The incident led to the "Salata Rule", which prohibits teams from passing to get the final pick.[3]
Prior to the establishment of Mr. Irrelevant in 1976, the first final pick to make the Pro Bowl was Bill Fischer, who was the last pick in the 1948 NFL draft. He was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals after his junior season at Notre Dame. He opted to stay in school, and won the Outland Trophy as the nation's top interior lineman in 1948. The Cardinals drafted him again in 1949, this time with their first-round pick.
Jimmy Walker was the final pick in the 1967 NFL draft, despite never having played college football. His main sport, however, was basketball, in which he was a consensus All-American and the nation's leading scorer as a senior at Providence College. Walker was the first pick in the 1967 NBA draft, and opted for a career in the NBA.[4]
Since the NFL Draft was cut to its current seven-round format in 1994, players presented with this dubious honor have more often succeeded in making the team that drafted them, with some making significant contributions.
Tyrone McGriff was perhaps the most successful Mr. Irrelevant from the pre-1994 era. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the last pick of the 12th round in 1980. He made the 1980 NFL All-Rookie Team, and played two more seasons for the Steelers. In 1983, he moved on to the Michigan Panthers of the upstart United States Football League. He won a league championship ring that year, as well as a spot on the USFL All-Star Team.
John Tuggle started five games as a fullback his rookie year, and was named the 1983 New York Giants Special Teams Player of the Year. However, during the 1984 training camp, he was diagnosed with cancer. He never played again, and died in 1986.
Mike Green played a significant role in the Chicago Bears secondary in the 2000s, and played from 2000 to 2008.[7]
Jim Finn was on the roster as a fullback for the New York Giants on their victory in Super Bowl XLII. Prior to the 2007 season, Finn was placed on injured reserve and never played a game for the Giants on their road to the Super Bowl that year, having been replaced by Madison Hedgecock. He had been the Giants fullback for four seasons.[8]
Ryan Succop, the 2009 designee, became the starting kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs. He went on to tie the NFL record for highest field goal percentage by a rookie in a season with 86.2 percent, and also passed NFL Hall of Famer Jan Stenerud for most field goals made by a rookie in Chiefs history. Succop was awarded the Mack Lee Hill Award that year.[9] He has been a starting kicker since his rookie season. Succop moved on to the Tennessee Titans for the 2014 season and was signed to a contract extension in early 2018 before being released in March 2020 and signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in early September. He proceeded to win Super Bowl LV with the team, becoming the second Mr. Irrelevant to win an NFL championship, and first to play and win a Super Bowl as a starter and an active player.
Chad Kelly, the 2017 designee and former Ole Miss quarterback, is the nephew of former Buffalo Bills quarterback and Hall of FamerJim Kelly. Drafted last largely because injury and discipline questions had lowered his previously high draft stock, Kelly progressed to become the Denver Broncos' second-string quarterback by the 2018 preseason before being released on October 24, 2018.[10] He later signed with the Indianapolis Colts.[11] After moving to the Canadian Football League, Kelly won the 109th Grey Cup in relief of Toronto Argonauts starting quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson.[12] The following season Kelly led the team to a 16–2 record before they lost in the playoffs to the eventual champions in Montreal. He was later awarded the CFL most outstanding player for that season.[13]
Brock Purdy, the 2022 designee, was propelled into the starting quarterback role for the San Francisco 49ers after injuries to the first- and second-string quarterbacks, Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo. In his rookie season, Purdy became the only rookie quarterback to beat Tom Brady in a starting debut. Purdy became the first Mr. Irrelevant to complete a forward pass, a touchdown pass, and a rushing touchdown in the regular season.[14][15][16] He won all five games he started as San Francisco completed a 10-game winning streak to close out the season, after which he became the first Mr. Irrelevant quarterback to start and win in a playoff game. Purdy was ultimately named a finalist for Offensive Rookie of the Year, finishing third place in voting. Purdy remained the starting quarterback in 2023, leading the 49ers to a 5–0 start, a repeat division title, and an appearance in Super Bowl LVIII, where he became the first Mr. Irrelevant to throw a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl, while setting a new single season franchise record for passing yards.[17][18][19][20] That season, he finished fourth place in MVP voting[21] and was named to his first Pro Bowl, becoming the first 49ers quarterback in two decades to earn the honor.[22] Purdy has been nicknamed "Mr. Relevant" for his immediate impact and rise to prominence.[23]
^Fischer was originally drafted last in the 1948 Draft by the Chicago Cardinals, although he elected to remain at college. He was then drafted by the same team in the first round of the 1949 Draft.
^Although some contemporary sources list Don Nottingham, who had a seven-year career in the NFL, as the last pick of this draft, the Oakland Raiders passed when their time came to pick in the last round and wound up choosing last.
^Pick traded from the Washington Redskins to the New York Giants prior to selection.
^Pick traded from the New York Giants to the Green Bay Packers prior to selection.
^Pick traded from the Washington Redskins to the Los Angeles Rams prior to selection.
^Pick traded from the San Francisco 49ers through the Los Angeles Raiders to the Minnesota Vikings prior to selection.
^Pick traded from the San Francisco 49ers to the Los Angeles Raiders prior to selection.
^Pick traded from the Dallas Cowboys to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prior to selection.
^Pick traded from the Dallas Cowboys to the New England Patriots prior to selection.
^Supplemental pick awarded to the reactivated Cleveland Browns, traded from the Browns to the Chicago Bears prior to selection.
^Supplemental pick awarded to the reactivated Cleveland Browns, traded from the Browns to the Chicago Bears prior to selection.
^Supplemental pick awarded to the expansion Houston Texans, traded from the Texans to the Oakland Raiders prior to selection.
^Pick traded from the Denver Broncos to the Tennessee Titans prior to selection. This was a non-compensatory pick.
^Compensatory pick traded from the Atlanta Falcons to the Washington Redskins prior to selection; from 2017 onwards, compensatory picks may be traded.
^Supplemental compensatory pick traded from the Houston Texans to the Los Angeles Rams prior to selection.
^ abcd"Salata's Short Career: Irrelevance is Relative," Petersen's 19th Annual: Pro Football 1979. Los Angeles: Petersen Publishing Co., 1979, pp. 30–31.
