Mr. Irrelevant is one of the NFL Draft’s most unusual traditions because it turns the final pick into something more than a footnote. The title began in 1976, when former NFL player Paul Salata created Irrelevant Week to honor the last player selected in the draft and celebrate the underdog side of pro football. For decades, the label was mostly a lighthearted reminder of how hard it is to make an NFL roster from the very bottom of the draft. Then Brock Purdy changed the way the phrase sounded. When the San Francisco 49ers selected Purdy with the final pick in 2022, he joined a long line of long shots. By becoming a starting quarterback on a Super Bowl team, he made Mr. Irrelevant feel relevant in a new way.
Paul Salata Turned the Last Draft Pick Into an NFL Tradition
The NFL Draft is built around projection, value, and hope. The first pick gets the spotlight, the largest expectations, and the clearest path to opportunity. The final pick usually arrives after hours of selections, when teams are filling out the back end of a roster and many players are already preparing for the undrafted free-agent process.
That is what made Mr. Irrelevant different. Salata, who played professionally before later becoming known for creating the award, gave the last pick a title and a celebration instead of letting him disappear into the transaction list. Irrelevant Week, held in Newport Beach, California, became a way to recognize the player chosen last and the wider group of players fighting for roster spots from the edge of the league.
The first official Mr. Irrelevant was Kelvin Kirk, a Dayton wide receiver selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 487th pick in the 1976 NFL Draft. The number itself shows how different the draft was then. Modern drafts are shorter, roster construction is more specialized, and scouting is more centralized, but the final pick still carries the same basic meaning: the league has almost finished sorting its prospects, and one player remains just inside the draft’s border.
Mr. Irrelevant Became a Symbol for the NFL’s Longest Odds
Most players taken with the final pick do not become NFL regulars. That is not a failure of the tradition; it is the point of the tradition. Mr. Irrelevant represents the narrowest possible entry through the draft. The player is drafted, but only just. He has a team, but no guarantee. He has a title, but the title itself reminds everyone how far he still has to go.
Over time, a few Mr. Irrelevant selections pushed against the label. Marty Moore, the final pick in 1994, became a useful linebacker and special teams contributor and later won a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots. Ryan Succop, the final pick in 2009, built a long career as a kicker and won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Those careers gave the tradition more substance because they showed that the last pick could become more than a novelty.
Still, the phrase mostly lived as draft language. It was familiar, charming, and easy to remember, but it did not usually reshape the football season. Mr. Irrelevant was a label for the end of April, not a phrase expected to matter deep into January. That changed when the 49ers selected Brock Purdy, an Iowa State quarterback, with the 262nd and final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Purdy’s rise changed the scale of the story. He entered the league behind Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, then became San Francisco’s starter as a rookie after injuries forced the 49ers deeper into their quarterback room. Instead of simply surviving, Purdy won games, helped lead the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game, and then followed it with a 2023 season that put San Francisco in the Super Bowl.
Brock Purdy Changed What Mr. Irrelevant Can Mean
Purdy did not erase the old meaning of Mr. Irrelevant. The last pick is still the last pick, and most players selected there still face a difficult path to NFL staying power. What Purdy changed was the ceiling of the phrase. Before him, Mr. Irrelevant usually meant a player trying to make the roster. After him, it also includes the possibility that the league’s final draft choice can become a franchise-level story.
That matters because the NFL Draft is often treated as if it creates certainty. First-round picks are expected to become stars. Late picks are expected to become depth. Undrafted players are expected to fight from the margins. But pro football keeps proving that evaluation is never finished on draft weekend. Opportunity, fit, coaching, injuries, development, and timing can all change a player’s career.
Mr. Irrelevant now sits at the center of that truth. The tradition began as a way to honor the overlooked player at the end of the draft. Purdy turned it into a reminder that the draft’s final name can still matter long after the cameras leave. The phrase will always carry its original humor, but it also carries more football weight now.
The last pick in the NFL Draft is still a long shot. That is what makes Mr. Irrelevant work. The tradition survives because it celebrates the player who enters the league with almost no built-in advantage. Purdy’s career made the title bigger, but the heart of the story is the same: pro football always leaves room for one more player to prove the draft order wrong.
