HOUSTON — Every year in the NFL Draft, there is a "Mr. Irrelevant." For nearly 50 years, Mr. Irrelevant has referred to the last player taken overall in the draft.
This year, it was safety Jaylen Key from Alabama. He was the last pick in this year's draft, taken by the New York Jets.
While Mr. Irrelevant is often a football footnote, a couple years ago, the draft's final pick quickly turned into a Super Bowl quarterback.
Brock Purdy was the last selection in the NFL Draft in 2022 out of Iowa State, but he was anything but irrelevant. Purdy was a Pro Bowler by 2023 and helped lead the San Francisco 49ers to the NFC Championship game in his rookie season. Then last year, he took them all the way to the Super Bowl, where the Niners fell to the Kansas City Chiefs.
While Purdy came close to winning a Super Bowl, another notable Mr. Irrelevant was actually on a Super Bowl-winning team and had a big role. That was Ryan Succop in 2021. He was the placekicker for Tampa Bay when the Bucs became the first team to win it in their home stadium. Succup kicked four extra points in that game and added a 52-yard field goal, as well.
Have the Houston Texans ever had a 'Mr. Irrelevant?'
The Houston Texans have had the last pick in the draft three times, most recently in 2014 when they selected safety Lonnie Ballentine out of Memphis. Three years before that, they also had the Mr. Irrelevant pick when they selected defensive end Cheta Ozougwu out of Rice with the draft’s final pick. Houston’s first time with the final pick of the draft was in 2002, when they selected defensive tackle Ahmad Miller out of UNLV.
When did 'Mr. Irrelevant' start?
The term "Mr. Irrelevant" was first coined in 1976 by Paul Salata, a former college and professional football player.
USA Today reports that in 1976, Salata – with league approval – flew Kevin Kirk, the last pick in that year's draft, to California for “Irrelevant Week.” It was a big perk of being the draft’s final pick, as it included a trip to Disney World and a golf tournament, all to celebrate the underdog.
“We established Irrelevant Week to drive home an important message -- that it’s not a negative to be picked last in the NFL Draft; rather, it’s an honor to be drafted at all,” Salata said on the "Irrelevant Week" website. “The last draft pick’s demonstration of perseverance is a lesson that resonates not only with NFL players and fans, but also with people everywhere.”
