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, now an FCS program.
He didn’t play a snap in the NFL, but several Mr. Irrelevants have gone on to have successful NFL careers.
Using Sports Reference’s Career AV statistic, 19 former Mr. Irrelevants have registered a Career AV of at least one, and seven players have a double-digit Career AV. That includes Jacque MacKinnon (1961) and Tom Carr (1966), who were both drafted before the term “Mr. Irrelevant” became the norm for the final pick of the draft.
Here are the most successful final selections of the NFL Draft.
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Most Successful Mr. Irrelevants
| Year | Player | Pos | Team | College | Games | Car. AV |
| 2009 | Ryan Succop | K | KAN | S. Carolina | 144 | 38 |
| 1961 | Jacque MacKinnon | TE | PHI | Colgate | 118 | 29 |
| 2022 | Brock Purdy | QB | SFO | Iowa St. | 25 | 24 |
| 2000 | Michael Green | DB | CHI | NW State (LA) | 104 | 24 |
| 2020 | Tae Crowder | LB | NYG | Georgia | 43 | 17 |
| 1992 | Matt Elliott | G | WAS | Michigan | 63 | 16 |
| 1994 | Marty Moore | LB | NWE | Kentucky | 112 | 15 |
| 2008 | David Vobora | LB | STL | Idaho | 40 | 8 |
| 1980 | Tyrone McGriff | G | PIT | Florida A&M | 36 | 7 |
| 1973 | Charlie Wade | WR | MIA | Tenn. St. | 21 | 6 |
| 1999 | Jim Finn | FB | CHI | Penn | 106 | 4 |
| 2021 | Grant Stuard | LB | TB | Houston | 49 | 3 |
| 2018 | Trey Quinn | WR | WAS | SMU | 16 | 2 |
| 1979 | Quentin Lowry | LB | DAL | Youngstown St. | 27 | 2 |
| 2023 | Desjuan Johnson | DE | LA Rams | Toledo | 21 | 2 |
| 1966 | Tom Carr | DT | BAL | Morgan St. | 4 | 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 |
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Best Mr. Irrelevants
Ryan Succop
Position: Kicker
Year Drafted: 2009
Team Drafted By: Kansas City Chiefs
College: South Carolina
Career AV: 38
Succop was the 256th pick of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. After not playing in 2022, Succop has appeared in 216 games, the most of any Mr. Irrelevant in NFL Draft history.
The former South Carolina kicker played for the Chiefs from 2009-2013, then for the Tennessee Titans from 2014-19, and then for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2020-22. He’s made 82.9% of his field goals and 96.1% of his extra points in his career.
Jacque MacKinnon
Position: Tight End
Year Drafted: 1961
Team Drafted By: Philadelphia Eagles
College: Colgate
Career AV: 29
One of the most successful final picks 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 was at one time 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.
Brock Purdy
Position: Quarterback
Year Drafted: 2022
Team Drafted By: San Francisco 49ers
College: Iowa State
Career AV: 24
Purdy is the next Mr. Irrelevant to earn a Pro Bowl nod, having done so in 2023.
He hasn’t been playing for long, but he’s made an immediate impact for the 49ers since being drafted 262nd overall in 2022. He led them to the NFC Championship as a rookie and appeared in Super Bowl 58 against the Chiefs this past season.
Purdy is 17-4 in 21 career starts in the regular season. He’s thrown for 5,654 yards, 44 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions on a 68.7% completion rate. He was in the MVP conversation in 2023, having recorded 4,280 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 11 picks as he completed 69.4% of his passes during the regular season. He’s also rushed for 157 yards and three touchdowns during his regular season appearances.
Purdy might be No. 1 on this list very soon.
Michael Green
Position: DB
Year Drafted: 2000
Team Drafted By: Chicago Bears
College: Northwestern State
Career AV: 24
Green was the 254th pick of the 2000 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears and played eight seasons for Chicago, Seattle, and Washington.
In his career, he amassed 426 tackles, six sacks, and four interceptions.
Tae Crowder
Position: Linebacker
Year Drafted: 2020
Team Drafted By: New York Giants
College: Georgia
Career AV: 17
Crowder was drafted 255th overall by the Giants in 2020 and played for them for three seasons before becoming a Tennessee Titan in 2023.
He has played in 43 games, starting 31, and has totaled 232 tackles, 124 solo, with nine tackles for loss. He has also intercepted two passes and forced two fumbles to go with two sacks while adding a fumble recovery which he turned into a touchdown.
