How the last pick in the NFL Draft came to be known as the sport's 'Mr Irrelevent'
For the 257 players who will be selected in the 2025 NFL draft starting on 24 April, the moment their name is called and they put on the hat of their new team will be a memory to cherish for a lifetime.
Or, rather, that will be the case for 256 of those players.
One unfortunate youngster picked in this year’s draft – as is the case every year – will be forever known as “Mr Irrelevant”.
That’s the nickname given to every player who is picked with the very last pick of the NFL draft.
The name originates from when, in 1974, former wide receiver Paul Salata founded “Irrelevant Week”, which aimed to shine a light on players who, like himself, had enjoyed comparatively “irrelevant” NFL careers.
Brock Purdy 49ners
Brock Purdy 49ners
From then on, the last pick in each draft was labelled Mr Irrelevant and would be invited to Irrelevant Week in Newport Beach, California.Getty
The invitation also included a trip to Disneyland, a golf tournament and the presentation of the “Lowsman” trophy, a play on the Heisman Trophy given each year to the best player in college football.
The design of the Lowsman mimicked that of the Heisman, only it depicted a player fumbling the football.
Most players selected with the final pick in the draft make little to no impact in the NFL, with many cut from their team’s roster before the season even begins.
There have been some notable exceptions, though. In total, three Mr Irrelevants have earned a Pro Bowl selection and four have played in a Super Bowl.
Brock Purdy, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback who was chosen with the 262nd and last pick of the 2022 draft, is the only Mr Irrelevant to do both.
NFL Game Pass
NFL Game Pass
Dart is not a perfect prospect by any means. At Ole Miss, he ran a simplified, RPO-heavy offense, with head coach Lane Kiffin expertly designing plays and asking little of the quarterback in terms of pre- and post-snap reads.
At times, Dart was guilty of failing to see the whole field, too, missing open, end-zone bound receivers as his vision locked on one half of the gridiron.
And a horror show against Florida last season – in which he threw two costly late interceptions in a 24-17 loss – is a blot mark on his tape.
But for QB-needy teams who either don’t land one of Ward or Sanders or – as whispers around the league suggest – don’t view the latter as worthy of an early pick, trading back into the first round for Dart or holding steady to take him early in the second could represent a draft-day bargain.
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