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Mr. Irrelevant

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Mr. Irrelevant is the title bestowed each year upon the last pick of the annual National Football League draft. Although the NFL Draft dates back to 1936, the first person to officially be given the "Mr. Irrelevant" title was Kelvin Kirk, pick number 487 of the 1976 draft. The current Mr. Irrelevant is Trey Quinn, former wide receiver for the SMU Mustangs football team, who was picked 256th by the Washington Redskins in the 2018 draft.

History

"Mr. Irrelevant" and "Irrelevant Week" arose in 1976, when former Southern California and NFL receiver Paul Salata founded the event in Newport Beach, California. He continued to announce the final pick of the NFL draft until 2013; from 2014 his daughter took over in announcing the pick. During the summer after the draft, the new Mr. Irrelevant and his family are invited to spend a week in Newport Beach where they enjoy a golf tournament, a regatta, a roast giving advice to the new draftee, and a ceremony awarding him the Lowsman Trophy. The trophy mimics the Heisman, but depicts a player fumbling a football.[1]

"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 Commissioner Pete Rozelle forced the teams to pick. The incident led to the "Salata Rule", which prohibits teams from passing to get the final pick.[2]

Notable "winners"

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 on the field.

One "Mr. Irrelevant" (who actually predated the award by nearly a decade) went on to a productive professional career in another sport. Jimmy Walker was the final pick in 1967 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.[8]

Pre-Mr. Irrelevant selections

Year Round Pick Player Name Team Position College
1936 9 9 81 Phil Flanagan Giants G Holy Cross
1937 10 10 100 Solon Holt Rams G TCU
1938 12 10 110 Ferd Dreher Bears E Denver
1939 22 5 200 Jack Rhodes Giants G Texas
1940 22 5 200 Myron Claxton Giants T Whittier
1941 22 2 204 Mort Landsberg Steelers B Cornell
1942 22 5 200 Stu Clarkson Bears C Texas A&I
1943 32 5 300 Bo Bogovich Redskins G Delaware
1944 32 6 330 Walton Roberts Yanks B Texas
1945 32 6 330 Billy Joe Aldridge Packers B Oklahoma A&M
1946 32 5 300 John West Rams B Oklahoma
1947 32 7 300 Don Clayton Giants B North Carolina
1948 32 7 300 Bill Fischer Cardinals G Notre Dame
1949 25 10 251 John (Bull) Schweder Eagles G Pennsylvania
1950 30 13 391 Dud Parker Eagles B Baylor
1951 30 11 362 Sisto Averno Browns G Muhlenberg
1952 30 11 360 John Saban Browns B Xavier
1953 30 11 360 Hal Maus Lions E Montana
1954 30 11 360 Ellis Horton Lions B Eureka (IL)
1955 30 11 360 Lamar Leachman Browns C Tennessee
1956 30 11 360 Bob Bartholomew Browns T Wake Forest
1957 30 11 360 Don Gest Giants E Washington State
1958 30 11 360 Tommy Bronson Lions B Tennessee
1959 30 12 360 Blair Weese Colts B West Virginia Tech
1960 20 12 240 Bill Gorman Giants T McMurry
1961 20 14 280 Jacque MacKinnon Eagles B Colgate
1962 20 14 280 Mike Snodgrass Packers C Western Michigan
1963 20 14 280 Bobby Brezina Packers B Houston
1964 20 14 280 Dick Niglio Bears RB Yale
1965 20 14 280 George Haffner Colts QB McNeese State
1966 20 15 305 Tom Carr Colts T Morgan State
1967 17 26 445 Jimmy Walker Saints WR Providence
1968 17 27 462 Jimmy Smith Bengals TE Jackson State
1969 17 26 442 Fred Zirkie Jets DT Duke
1970 17 26 442 Rayford Jenkins Chiefs DB Alcorn A&M
1971[a] 17 26 442 Charles Hill Raiders WR Sam Houston State
1972 17 26 442 Alphonso Cain Cowboys DT Bethune-Cookman
1973 17 26 442 Charles Wade Dolphins WR Tennessee State
1974 17 26 442 Ken Dickerson Dolphins DB Tuskegee
1975 17 26 442 Stan Hegener Steelers G Nebraska

Mr. Irrelevant selections

Year Round Pick Player Name Team Position College
1976 17 28 487 Kelvin Kirk Steelers WR Dayton
1977 12 27 335 Jim Kelleher Vikings RB Colorado
1978 12 28 334 Lee Washburn Cowboys G Montana State
1979 12 27 330 Mike Almond Steelers WR Northwestern State
1980 12 28 333 Tyrone McGriff Steelers G Florida A&M
1981 12 28 332 Phil Nelson Raiders TE Delaware
1982 12 28 334 Tim Washington 49ers DB Fresno State
1983 12 28 335 John Tuggle Giants[b] RB California
1984 12 28 336 Randy Essington Raiders QB Colorado
1985 12 28 336 Donald Chumley 49ers DT Georgia
1986 12 28 333 Mike Travis Chargers DB Georgia Tech
1987 12 28 335 Norman Jefferson Packers[c] DB LSU
1988 12 28 333 Jeff Beathard Rams[d] WR Southern Oregon
1989 12 28 335 Everett Ross Vikings[e] WR Ohio State
1990 12 27 331 Demetrius Davis Raiders[f] TE Nevada
1991 12 28 334 Larry Wanke Giants QB John Carroll
1992 12 28 336 Matt Elliott Redskins C Michigan
1993 8 28 224 Daron Alcorn Buccaneers[g] K Akron
1994 7 28 222 Marty Moore Patriots[h] LB Kentucky
1995 7 41 249 Michael Reed Panthers DB Boston College
1996 7 45 254 Sam Manuel 49ers LB New Mexico State
1997 7 39 240 Ronnie McAda Packers QB Army
1998 7 52 241 Cam Quayle Ravens TE Weber State
1999 7 47 253 Jim Finn Bears[i] RB Pennsylvania
2000 7 48 254 Michael Green Bears[j] DB Northwestern State
2001 7 46 246 Tevita Ofahengaue Cardinals TE BYU
2002 7 50 261 Ahmad Miller Texans DT UNLV
2003 7 48 262 Ryan Hoag Raiders[k] WR Gustavus Adolphus
2004 7 54 255 Andre Sommersell Raiders LB Colorado State
2005 7 41 255 Andy Stokes Patriots TE William Penn
2006 7 47 255 Kevin McMahan Raiders WR Maine
2007 7 45 255 Ramzee Robinson Lions CB Alabama
2008 7 45 252 David Vobora Rams OLB Idaho
2009 7 47 256 Ryan Succop Chiefs K South Carolina
2010 7 48 255 Tim Toone Lions WR Weber State
2011 7 53 254 Cheta Ozougwu Texans DE Rice
2012 7 46 253 Chandler Harnish Colts QB Northern Illinois
2013 7 48 254 Justice Cunningham Colts TE South Carolina
2014 7 41 256 Lonnie Ballentine Texans S Memphis
2015 7 39 256 Gerald Christian Cardinals TE Louisville
2016 7 32 253 Kalan Reed Titans[l] CB Southern Miss
2017 7 35 253 Chad Kelly Broncos QB Ole Miss
2018 7 38 256 Trey Quinn Redskins[m] WR SMU

Notes

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Pick traded from the Washington Redskins to the New York Giants prior to selection.
  3. ^ Pick traded from the New York Giants to the Green Bay Packers prior to selection.
  4. ^ Pick traded from the Washington Redskins to the Los Angeles Rams prior to selection.
  5. ^ Pick traded from the San Francisco 49ers through the Los Angeles Raiders to the Minnesota Vikings prior to selection.
  6. ^ Pick traded from the San Francisco 49ers to the Los Angeles Raiders prior to selection.
  7. ^ Pick traded from the Dallas Cowboys to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prior to selection.
  8. ^ Pick traded from the Dallas Cowboys to the New England Patriots prior to selection.
  9. ^ Supplemental pick awarded to the reactivated Cleveland Browns, traded from the Browns to the Chicago Bears prior to selection.
  10. ^ Supplemental pick awarded to the reactivated Cleveland Browns, traded from the Browns to the Chicago Bears prior to selection.
  11. ^ Supplemental pick awarded to the expansion Houston Texans, traded from the Texans to the Oakland Raiders prior to selection.
  12. ^ Pick traded from the Denver Broncos to the Tennessee Titans prior to selection. This was a non-compensatory pick.
  13. ^ Compensatory pick traded from the Atlanta Falcons to the Washington Redskins prior to selection; from 2017 onwards, compensatory picks may be traded.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Irrelevant Week is pretty, well, relevant". Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  2. ^ Merron, Jeff (April 18, 2005). "The strangest NFL draft moments". ESPN. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  3. ^ "'Mr. Irrelevant' Marty Moore a Major Success Story for Patriots". March 10, 2010. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  4. ^ "NFL Draft 2013: Top 5 most relevant Mr. Irrelevant selections of all time". Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  5. ^ a b "20 NFL draft Mr. Irrelevants who worked their way to (some sort of) relevance". April 29, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 13, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ Wesseling, Chris (May 1, 2018). "John Elway: Broncos not giving up on Paxton Lynch". nfl.com. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  8. ^ May, Peter (July 3, 2007). "Providence hoops legend Jimmy Walker dies at 63". The Boston Globe. Retrieved August 8, 2007. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
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