With The Final Pick of the XXXX NFL Draft, Someone… Selects.
Ok, you get the picture, every year since 1936 one player has had the somewhat dubious honour of being picked last and since 1976 they have been given the title “Mr Irrelevant”. We say “slightly dubious” as it is better than going undrafted and some have done pretty well over the years!
Fore Example Marty Moore reached a Super Bowl with the Patriots in 1996 (Super Bowl XXXI). Even better he got a ring with them in 2001, despite not suiting up due to injury!
Anyway, we decided to do a little research to see how they have fared, starting in 1994 as this was when the draft moved to its current 7 round format.
Which ironically is when… you guessed it, the aforementioned Mr Moore was picked at 222.
1994 Marty Moore LB Patriots
Pick 222 Kentucky
Marty Moore had a decent career spanning eight seasons. He played most of these for The New England Patriots but did spend one season with the Cleveland Browns in 2000. Overall he started 19 games and featured in 112. His playing stats reflect the fact he was mainly a special teams guy, however, he amassed 3 interceptions and a sack.
1995 Michael Reed DB Panthers
Pick 249 Boston College
Reed only played three times for the Carolina Panthers before switching to NFL Europe where he played for Frankfurt Galaxy. He began coaching in 2000 and spent a few years at the Philadelphia Eagles before returning to college football. He Currently (2022) coaches at Clemson and was part of the coaching staff that helped them win two National Titles in 2016 & 2018.
1996 Sam Manuel LB 49ers
Pick 254 New Mexico State
Manuel & his twin brother Sean were both drafted by the 49ers but he never started a game or made the roster. He did have a spell in NFL Europe with the Scottish Claymores and also played a season in the XFL in 2001. He has since retired from the game.
1997 Ronnie McAda QB Packers
Pick 240 Army
McAda never made a start for the Packers but did spend a season in NFL Europe with the Berlin Thunder where he threw two TDs.
1998 Cam Quayle TE Ravens
Pick 241 Weber State
Quayle never made the Ravens squad but did play 10 games In NFL Europe for the Barcelona Dragons. He suffered a career-ending injury in his final game. He is now a highly successful dentist (as of 2022).
1999 Jim Finn FB Bears
Pick 253 Pennsylvania
Finn never suited up for the Bears but went on to have a relatively successful career at Indianapolis & at The NY Giants, winning a Super Bowl with the latter in the 2007 season. Overall he played in 106 games over seven seasons and his blocking was a big part of Tiki Barbers’ Giants franchise-record 1,860 yards Rushing in 2005.
One for the Trivia Buffs – He is one of only two players to catch a pass from both Peyton & Eli Manning!
2000 Michael Green DB Bears
Pick 254 Northwestern State
Mike Green defied the odds and went on to have a decent career spanning eight seasons. His best year was 2002 when he recorded 100 solo tackles in what was a pretty poor Bears team. He also featured in 4 postseason games including the divisional round with Seattle in 2007. His final season was with Washington where he started 2 games. With six sacks Four forced Fumbles and seven interceptions he is one of the best Mr Irrelevants of this era.
2001 Tevita Ofahengaue TE Cardinals
Pick 246 BYU
Ofahengaue was cut by the Cardinals in 2001 before the season started and had another tryout with The Jaguars in 2002. Again he never made the squad and he then left football.
2002 Ahmad Miller DT Texans
Pick 261 UNLV
Miller competed in the Texans practice squad in 2002 but was cut before the pre-season games began. He was picked up by the NY Giants in 2003 but suffered a career-ending injury in their second Pre Season game. He appears to be out of football now.
2003 Ryan Hoag WR Raiders
Pick 262 Gustavus Adolphus
Hoag’s career never quite took off and although he made several NFL practice squads he didn’t get to play in the NFL. However, he did start 4 games in NFL Europe for the Berlin Thunder in 2007 and he amassed 131 yards in his 5 games with them. He also played in the UFL in 2009 for the New York Sentinels.
2004 Andre Sommersell LB Raiders
Pick 255 Colorado State
Andre Sommersell was cut by the raiders but did go on to play for the Berlin Thunder in 2005. He had more success in 2006 with the Edmonton Eskimos where he had 3 sacks in his 8 games. He retired from football at the end of that season to pursue a career in business.
2005 Andy Stokes TE Patriots
Pick 255 William Penn
Despite being a decent college player Stokes didn’t make the progression to the NFL. He participated in offseason practice squads for the Patriots, Cardinals & Seahawks between 2005 and 2007 before retiring from the game.
2006 Kevin McMahan WR Raiders
Pick 255 Maine
McMahan didn’t play a regular-season game but to be fair probably should have. Classic case of wrong place wrong time. Drafted by the Raiders who were stacked at WR at the time (think Joey Porter & Randy Moss) meant he never had a chance in 2006. In 2007 he played well in the Giant’s Pre-season games but again got cut. Then history repeated with the Chiefs cutting him after their final pres season game despite him having a good showing. He had another brief spell with the Panthers before finally hanging up his helmet in 2009.
2007 Ramzee Robinson CB Lions
Pick 255 Alabama
Robinson didn’t start an NFL game but did feature in 26 including 19 for Detriot. His career highlight was a fumble recovery for Detroit in 2008 and he is best remembered for his taunting of Green Bay Wide Receiver James Jones following an incomplete pass. This was made worse as the Lions lost and went 0-16. He also featured in games for the Eagles & Browns.
2008 David Vobora OLB Rams
Pick 252 Idaho
Vobora had a reasonable three years with the Rams featuring in 34 games with 16 starts. His best year was 2009 with 36 solo tackles and a forced fumble. His career never really recovered from a 4 game ban for taking (unwittingly) a performance-enhancing substance. He subsequently sued the supplement manufacturer and was awarded $5.4M. He played in six games for Seattle in 2011 before retiring from the game.
2009 Ryan Succop Kicker Chiefs
Image Credit All-Pro Reels CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Pick 256 South Carolina
The poster boy for the Mr Irrelevant award Succop is about to enter his 14th season and he has only missed 10 games in all that time. He got a Super Bowl winners Ring with Tampa Bay in the 2020 season and has signed a contract extension running until 2024. He made the Pro Football Writers Association all-rookie team in 2009 and going into the new season he has hit 86.3% of his field-goal tries and is 96.3% on Point After attempts!
2010 Tim Toone WR Lions
Pick 255 Weber State
Tim Toone’s career was plagued by injuries and although he did make the 53 man squad for Atlanta in 2012 he never started a game. He also competed on the practice squads of Buffalo & Denver. His last team was the Saints where he was briefly signed in 2013 before being waived before the season started.
2011 Cheta Ozougwu DE Texans
Pick 254 Rice
Ozougwu looked to have a promising career playing well in all four preseason games for the Texans in 2011. However, he didn’t play in any regular-season games and was picked up by the Bears in 2012. Again he had a good pre-season recording 3 sacks in 4 games and went on to feature in 9 games for them over the 2012 & 13 seasons. He was waived by Chicago in 2014 despite playing well in their final 7 games in 2013. He briefly joined the Saints but was placed on injured reserve and released in 2015. His career stats included nine tackles a sack & a forced fumble.
2012 7 46 253 Chandler Harnish QB Colts
Pick 253 Northern Illinois
Harnish spent most of his NFL career on practice squads but was activated to the Vikings squad for one game in 2014. He was last on a practice squad in 2015 before being released by the Arizona Cardinals before the regular season started.
2013 Justice Cunningham TE Colts
Pick 254 South Carolina
Cunningham played in one game for the Colts in 2013 recording a catch for 4 yards. He was subsequently cut and joined the Rams where he was placed on the practice squad and briefly made the roster but didn’t play. The Rams waived him in the final cuts in 2016.
2014 Lonnie Ballentine S Texans
Pick 256 Memphis
Ballentine was with the Texans between 2014 & 2016 and played in two games in 2015 recording 3 tackles and a pass defense. He was on the active roster in 2016 but was placed on injured reserve after two games and released in 2017.
2015 Gerald Christian TE Cardinals
Pick 256 Louisville
Christian’s career was hampered by a torn MCL which he picked up in the Cardinal’s final preseason game in 2015. This was season-ending and he was waived in 2016. He joined Buffalo and although he was mainly on the practice squad he was activated for three games during which he had one catch for 14 yards. He was released in 2017 and briefly rejoined the Cardinals before joining the Atlanta Legends in the short-lived Alliance of American Football. He played in all eight of their games and amassed 158 yards and scored a TD.
2016 Kalan Reed CB Titans
Pick 253 Southern Miss
Reed was active with the Titans in 2016 & 2017 but suffered a broken foot in 2018 which led to him being released. He subsequently signed with the Seattle Seahawks but didn’t play in any games for them before being allowed to walk in free agency. He had 3 tackles and a pass deflection in his active games.
2017 Chad Kelly Broncos QB
Pick 253 Ole Miss
Chad Kelly’s NFL career was short, not helped by injury and off-field issues. He missed the entire 2017 season following a wrist operation but did make his solitary start in the 2018 season. He was cut soon after due to criminal charges. He then spent two years with the Colts but didn’t play any games. In 2022 he signed for the Toronto Argonauts and will hopefully rebuild his career in the Canadian Football League.
2018 Trey Quinn WR Washington Redskins
Pick 256 SMU
Trey Quinn is yet another whose early career was blighted by injury. He succumbed to a high ankle sprain in Washington’s season opener in 2018. He recovered briefly but injured it again and was limited to three games in his rookie season. Still with 9 receptions for 75 yards and one TD he did pretty well. Quinn started 6 games in 2019, recording 198 yards receiving and scored a TD in the 12 games he featured in. Once again he ended up on the injured reserve list and was cut in 2020.
In 2020 he joined Jacksonville and played in one game but again finished the season injured. Then in 2021 he signed for the Raiders but was placed on injured reserve again before the season started and later released.
He is currently with the Denver Broncos and if he can stay healthy we may see him catch a pass from Russel Wilson this year.
2019 Caleb Wilson TE Cardinals
Pick 254 UCLA
Wilson has bounced around various practice squads since being drafted in 2019. He was activated to the Eagles squad for a few games in 2020 but didn’t figure in any of the games. The Denver Broncos signed him to their practice squad in 2021 but his contract expired in early 2022 and he is currently a free agent
2020 Tae Crowder LB NY Giants
Pick 255 Georgia
Tae Crowder Had a few injury issues in his rookie season but started all 17 games for the Giants in 2021. He has had a pretty good start to his NFL career and to date he has recorded 187 tackles and has two interceptions a forced fumble and a defensive TD. He will most likely be their starter at ILB in 2022.
2021 Grant Stuard LB Buccaneers
Pick 259 Houston
Stuard didn’t get a whole lot of playing time in 2021, which was not surprising given he was playing for the defending Super Bowl Champions. Still, he showed some promise and recorded 16 tackles and a forced fumble. He should see the field a bit more in 2022.
2022 Brock Purdy QB 49ers
Pick 262 Iowa State
Brock Purdy has landed in a tough spot given the 49ers gave up a host of draft picks to get Trey Lance last season. Currently, he will be 4th on their QB depth chart but with Jimmy Garoppolo likely to leave before the season starts he could end up backing up Lance. Who knows how his career will go, especially if injury strikes or Lance fails to live up to the hype. We thought he would go undrafted so he is already better than we expected.
Thoughts
Although it has been more hit than miss, it would be fair to say that overall Mr Irrelevant has proven on a few occasions not to be and not too many have been complete busts. The last three on the list look to have promising careers ahead and in Ryan Succop, there could even be a future Hall of Famer if they ever decide to let another kicker in!
