Mr. Irrelevant

Mr. Irrelevant (from English irrelevant , i.e. insignificant ) is an ironic title that is awarded in American football to the player who is last drawn in the annual NFL draft .

background

In 1976, the former NFL player Paul Salata had the idea of delighting the last of the NFL drafts ("Mr. Irrelevant") in 1976 with a one-week vacation ("Irrelevant Week") in California . Kelvin Kirk , who was drafted 487th and last position in the 1976 NFL draft, was a guest of honor at a fun golf tournament as well as a regatta, which was also not very serious, and was presented with the Lowsman Trophy at a banquet . This trophy is a parody of the Heisman Trophy : while the Heisman Trophy shows a footballer holding the football securely in his hand, the footballer drops it at the Lowsman Trophy. This idea came up in the NFL from Commissioner Pete Rozelle enthusiastically received and has since become an integral part of the annual NFL draft.

The choice of Mr. Irrelevant definitely has advertising character for the drafting team. In 1979 the Los Angeles Rams had the penultimate pick and the Pittsburgh Steelers the last pick. The Rams decided to swap their pick with the Steelers', who in turn reversed the swap. When the Rams repeated this procedure, Rozelle spoke a word of power so that the Steelers could choose the last player in the draft.

Over the years, Mr. Irrelevants have been given increasingly unusual gifts and events. These included free tickets for restaurants, watches, golf clubs and the like, but also a “one-time amnesty” from the local police chief for too loud partying, toilet bowls or a boat tour in a blue ceramic whale. Ryan Succop , the Mr. Irrelevant 2010, won “for his parents, his two sisters, his girlfriend and himself a welcome party on the beach in Southern California, a banquet, a golf course, a surfing course with 'many bikini beauties', a beach volleyball training with the local college women's team, a trip to Disneyland and lots of gifts from Irrelevant Week sponsors ”. Although various Mr. Irrelevants have mixed feelings about the celebration, the players generally enjoyed Irrelevant Week, according to Salata.

Although “Irrevelant Week” is intended to be humorous, Mr. Irrelevant should not be the target of ridicule. Melanie Fitch, the daughter of Paul Salata and currently running Irrelevant Week, says: “It's actually an underdog's celebration. He is not irrelevant because he was drafted last, but because it is irrelevant that he was drafted last. ”Because unlike other players who were not included in the NFL draft, Mr. Irrelevant really became an NFL player . Cheta Ozougwu , who was drafted 254th and last by the Houston Texans in the 2011 NFL Draft, said he was "relieved" to have been drafted last, and had no problem being called "Mr. Unimportant" become.

As a rule, Mr. Irrelevants have a hard time fighting for a place in the squad, let alone playing their way onto the starting line-up. But Bill Kenney (Mr. Irrelevant 1978) played in the Pro Bowl , Jim Finn (Mr. Irrelevant 1999) was on the roster of the Super Bowl XLII champions New York Giants , Marty Moore (Mr. Irrelevant 1994), played in Super Bowl XXXI , However, lost that game with the New England Patriots .

List of pre-mr. Irrelevant

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

List of Mr. Irrelevant

year	round	Lap pick	Overall pick	Surname	team	position	college
1976	17th	28	487	Kelvin Kirk	Steelers	WR	University of 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	RB	California
1984	12	28	336	Randy Essington	Raiders	QB	Colorado
1985	12	28	336	Donald Chumley	49ers	DT	University of Georgia
1986	12	28	333	Mike Travis	Chargers	DB	Georgia Tech
1987	12	28	335	Norman Jefferson	Packers	DB	LSU
1988	12	28	333	Jeff Beathard	Rams	WR	Southern Oregon
1989	12	28	335	Everett Ross	Vikings	WR	Ohio State
1990	12	27	331	Demetrius Davis	Raiders	TE	Nevada
1991	12	28	334	Larry Wanke	Giants	QB	John Carroll
1992	12	28	336	Matt Elliott	Redskins	C.	Michigan
1993	8th	28	224	Daron Alcorn	Buccaneers	K	Akron
1994	7th	28	222	Marty Moore	Patriots	LB	Kentucky
1995	7th	41	249	Michael Reed	Panthers	DB	Boston College
1996	7th	45	254	Sam Manuel	49ers	LB	New Mexico State
1997	7th	39	240	Ronnie McAda	Packers	QB	Army
1998	7th	52	241	Cam Quayle	Ravens	TE	Weber State
1999	7th	47	253	Jim Finn	Bears	RB	Pennsylvania
2000	7th	48	254	Michael Green	Bears	DB	Northwestern State
2001	7th	46	246	Tevita Ofahengaue	Cardinals	TE	BYU
2002	7th	50	261	Ahmad Miller	Texans	DT	UNLV
2003	7th	48	262	Ryan Hoag	Raiders	WR	Gustavus Adolphus
2004	7th	54	255	Andre Sommersell	Raiders	LB	Colorado State
2005	7th	41	255	Andy Stokes	Patriots	TE	William Penn
2006	7th	47	255	Kevin McMahan	Raiders	WR	Maine
2007	7th	45	255	Ramzee Robinson	Lions	CB	Alabama
2008	7th	45	252	David Vobora	Rams	OLB	Idaho
2009	7th	47	256	Ryan Succop	Chiefs	K	South carolina
2010	7th	48	255	Tim Toone	Lions	WR	Weber State
2011	7th	53	254	Cheta Ozougwu	Texans	DE	Rice
2012	7th	46	253	Chandler Harnish	Colts	QB	Northern Illinois
2013	7th	48	254	Justice Cunningham	Colts	TE	South carolina
2014	7th	41	256	Lonnie Ballentine	Texans	S.	Memphis
2015	7th	39	256	Gerald Christian	Cardinals	TE	Louisville
2016	7th	32	253	Kalan Reed	Titans	CB	Southern Miss
2017	7th	35	253	Chad Kelly	Broncos	QB	Ole Miss
2018	7th	38	256	Trey Quinn	Redskins	WR	SMU
2019	7th	40	254	Caleb Wilson	Cardinals	TE	UCLA
2020	7th	41	255	Tae Crowder	Giants	LB	Georgia

See also

• List of all-time firsts in the NFL Draft

Web links

• Homepage of the "Mr. Irrelevant "price

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} They Call Me Mister Irrelevant: Seven Irrelevants From Seven Decades , Bleacher Report.
2. ^ Irrelevant can be a good thing , ESPN.
3. ^ The strangest NFL draft moments: 5. The battle for "Mr. Irrelevant," ESPN.com
4. ↑ ^{a b} Who'll be Mr. Irrelevant? , ESPN.
5. ↑ Ryan Succop accepts his new title as Mr. Irrelevant ( Memento from January 12, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), thestate.com. (Version of January 12, 2011 from the Internet Archive )
6. ↑ Mr. Irrelevant / Lowsman Trophy Award ( Memento of September 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), football-almanac.com. Quote: “Actually it's a celebration of the underdog. We're trying to say it's irrelevant that he's drafted last, because he's as worthy as the first choice. It's irrelevant that he's last. It's kind of a play on words. It's not mean spirited at all. "
7. ↑ Selected last by Houston, Rice DE Ozougwu tabbed Mr. Irrelevant ( September 15, 2010 memento in the Internet Archive ), Sports Illustrated.