Mr. Irrelevant — the last person selected every year in the NFL Draft — was a term coined in the 1976 NFL Draft and assigned to Kelvin Kirk, a wide receiver out of Dayton. He didn’t play a snap in the NFL, but several Mr. Irrelevants hove gone on to have successful NFL careers
Using Sports Reference’s Career AV statistic, we’re taking a look at the most successful NFL players who were selected with the final pick in their respective drafts.
Career AV is the career summation of Sports Reference’s “attempt to put a single number on the seasonal value of a player at any position from any year.” You can find the methodology here.
Fifteen former Mr. Irrelevants have registered a career AV of at least one, and five players have a double-digit Career AV. Here are the most successful Mr. Irrelevants in NFL history.
Jacque MacKinnon, TE
Year Drafted: 1961
Team Drafted By: Philadelphia Eagles
College: Colgate
Career AV: 25
The most successful final pick of the draft technically isn’t in the “Mr. Irrelevant” club. MacKinnon, a tight end out of Colgate, was selected with the 280th pick (20th round) of the 1961 NFL Draft. The term “Mr. Irrelevant” wasn’t coined until 1976, but MacKinnon and all final picks of the draft pre-1976 can retroactively be thought of as Mr. Irrelevant, too.
Most of MacKinnon’s success came in the AFL with the San Diego Chargers — he later played for the NFL’s Oakland Raiders.
MacKinnon is the only player in NFL history to be selected with the final pick in the draft and go on to be named to the Pro Bowl, a feat he accomplished twice in his career.
Ryan Succop, K
Year Drafted: 2009
Team Drafted By: Kansas City Chiefs
College: South Carolina
Career AV: 24
Succop was the 256th pick of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. As of the 2017 season, Succop has played in 144 games, the most of any Mr. Irrelevant in NFL Draft history.
The former South Carolina kicker played for the Chiefs from 2009-2013, and has since played for the Tennessee Titans. He’s made 83.3 percent of his field goals and 97.9 percent of his career extra points.
Since Career AV is a cumulative stat, Succop could very easily move to No. 1 on this list with a strong 2018 season.
Michael Green, DB
Year Drafted: 2000
Team Drafted By: Chicago Bears
College: Northwestern State
Career AV: 22
Green was the 254th pick of the 2000 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, and played eight seasons for the Bears, Seattle Seahawks and the Washington Redskins.
In his career he amassed 426 tackles, 6 sacks and 4 interceptions.
Matt Elliott, G
Year Drafted: 1992
Team Drafted By: Washington Redskins
College: Michigan
Career AV: 15
A former All-American at Michigan, Elliott was the 336th pick in the 1992 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. He spent five seasons in the NFL with the Redskins and the Carolina Panthers.
He played in 63 career games in his NFL career. He played in all 16 games, starting 12, of the 1996 NFL season, helping the Panthers to the NFC Championship Game.
Marty Moore, LB
Year Drafted: 1994
Team Drafted By: New England Patriots
College: Kentucky
Career AV: 14
Moore, the 222nd pick in the 1994 NFL Draft, played in seven NFL seasons for the Patriots and the Cleveland Browns.
He has a Super Bowl ring as a member of the winning New England team in Super Bowl XXXVI, and is one of five Mr. Irrelevants to play in at least 100 NFL games.
Most Successful Mr. Irrelevants
Here’s a look at every Mr. Irrelevant who has registered a Career AV of at least 1:
(*Note: Jacque MacKinnon (1961) and Tom Carr (1966) were both drafted before the term “Mr. Irrelevant” became the norm for the final pick of the draft)
| Year | Player | Pos | Team | College | Games | Car. AV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Jacque MacKinnon* | TE | PHI | Colgate | 118 | 25 |
| 2009 | Ryan Succop | K | KAN | South Carolina | 144 | 24 |
| 2000 | Michael Green | DB | CHI | NW State (LA) | 104 | 22 |
| 1992 | Matt Elliott | G | WAS | Michigan | 63 | 15 |
| 1994 | Marty Moore | LB | NWE | Kentucky | 112 | 14 |
| 2008 | David Vobora | LB | STL | Idaho | 40 | 8 |
| 1980 | Tyrone McGriff | G | PIT | Florida A&M | 36 | 8 |
| 1973 | Charlie Wade | WR | MIA | Tennessee St. | 21 | 6 |
| 1999 | Jim Finn | FB | CHI | Penn | 106 | 4 |
| 1979 | Quentin Lowry | LB | DAL | Youngstown St. | 27 | 2 |
| 1966 | Tom Carr* | DT | BAL | Morgan St. | 4 | 2 |
| 2011 | Cheta Ozougwu | DE | HOU | Rice | 9 | 1 |
| 2007 | Ramzee Robinson | DB | DET | Alabama | 26 | 1 |
| 1987 | Norman Jefferson | DB | GNB | LSU | 14 | 1 |
| 1983 | John Tuggle | RB | NYG | California | 16 | 1 |
