Best Mr. Irrelevants in NFL history: List of the most successful, famous players to be picked last in NFL Draft

Brock Purdy made history with the first regular-season touchdown pass for a Mr. Irrelevant last week. He'll have plenty more chances for history moving forward.

Purdy will become the 49ers starting quarterback for the rest of the season following Jimmy Garoppolo's season-ending injury against the Dolphins, just eight months after the 49ers selected him with the 262nd pick in the NFL draft in the final spot.

Quarterbacking a legitimate Super Bowl contender in the midst of a race to the NFC West title and a top spot in the playoffs will quickly make Purdy one of the most relevant Mr. Irrelevants in NFL history, as few have ever been in the spotlight. But there have been others taken with the last pick that have made a lasting impact.

The Sporting News is taking a look at some of the best Mr. Irrelevants in NFL history. Here's who to know.

List of Mr. Irrelevant in NFL Draft history

Purdy is the seventh quarterback drafted with the final pick in the draft dating back to 1965.

Technically, the term Mr. Irrelevant dates back to 1976, when former Colts receiver Paul Salata threw a celebration for Kelvin Kirk, who was taken 487th by the Steelers. However, just because the term didn't exist doesn't mean the concept wasn't around. There has had to be a last player in the NFL draft since the first year of the draft.

Here's a look at each player taken last in the draft since 1936:

Who was the most successful Mr. Irrelevant?

It would be hard to make a case for anyone besides Ryan Succop (for now). The last pick in the 2009 NFL Draft has appeared in all but 10 possible games since entering the NFL as the kicker for the Chiefs. As a rookie, he successfully booted 25-of-29 tries.

Succop remained Kansas City's kicker for the first five years of his career, then spent six with the Titans. He has spent the past three years with the Buccaneers, during which time he won a Super Bowl.

He has made 313-of-375 (83.5 percent) of all field goal attempts and 463-of-481 (96.3 percent) of point-after tries in the regular season. In the playoffs, he has made 16-of-17 kicks and 28-of-29 extra points.

Best Mr. Irrelevants in NFL history

After Succop, it's mostly defensive players that occupy the list of best Mr. Irrelevants in NFL history. Few offensive players have had the type of impact Purdy will have the opportunity to have.

But we're going to take a look at three players from both offense and defense that have had a major impact on teams in history.

Offensive players

Jacque MacKinnon, TE

Jacque MacKinnon is a bit of an interesting case. He was selected last by the Eagles in the 1961 NFL Draft and was taken 264th by the Chargers in the 1962 AFL Draft. He opted to stick with the Chargers and was a versatile weapon at fullback and tight end, catching 112 passes for 2,109 yards with 20 touchdowns, while rushing 86 times for 381 yards and two touchdowns. Along the way, he won an AFL Championship and earned a pair of Pro Bowls.

Bill Fischer, G

The last pick in the 1948 NFL Draft, Bill Fischer, a former Notre Dame guard, made an immediate impact with the Chicago Cardinals. He spent most of his career playing left tackle with a few games at right guard, appearing in five NFL seasons from 1949-53. He started 48 games and appeared in 59, and along the way, earned Pro Bowls in 1950, 1951 and 1952.

Jim Finn, FB

The list is really complete when the second fullback makes an appearance. Unlike MacKinnon, Finn spent his entire NFL career as a fullback after he was taken with the last pick by the Bears in 1999. Finn played with the Colts from 2000-02, appearing in 43 games, largely filling in as a blocker for the team. But he took up a larger role with the Giants, starting 42 games and appearing in 63 total from 2003-06. During that time, he caught 50 passes for 379 yards and rushed five times for 21 yards. He finished his NFL career with 60 catches for 423 yards, one touchdowns and rushed 11 times for 30 yards.

Defensive players

Michael Green, S/CB

The second Mr. Irrelevant selected by the Bears, coming a year after Finn, Michael Green actually stayed with Chicago and didn't take long to carve out a role. After seven games in 2000, he appeared in all 16 and started two in 2001, defending four passes, forcing a pair of fumbles, tallying three sacks and combining for 70 tackles. The next season, he was the starting strong safety, opening all 16 games and defending five passes with a sack, 130 tackles and two fumble recoveries. He spent six years with the Bears before a year each with Seattle and Washington in 2007 and 2008, respectively. He finished his career with four picks, seven forced fumbles, 434 combined tackles, six sacks and eight fumble recoveries across 48 starts in 104 total games.

Tae Crowder, LB

Tae Crowder is only in his third year in the league after the Giants picked him 255th in 2020, and like Green, he was quick to take up a major role with New York. As a rookie, he started in six games of 11 total appearances and tallied a pass defended, a fumble recovered for a touchdown, one sack and 57 combined tackles. He has since been a consistent starter, having opened all 17 games in 2021 as the starter and eight of 12 in 2022. He has two sacks, 232 tackles, six QB hits, nine tackles for loss, two picks, eight passes defended and two forced fumbles in his career to date.

Marty Moore, LB

The second straight linebacker to make the list, Marty Moore was largely a backup during his career with the Patriots, though he briefly occupied a starting role with the Browns in his lone campaign with Cleveland. Moore, the last pick in 1994, appeared in 16 games in each of his first four seasons in the NFL and was a valuable depth piece for New England, tallying 81 combined tackles, two forced fumbles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery in his first six years in the NFL. He started nine of 16 games for the Browns in 2000, during which time he recorded his third interception, his first sack and set a career-best with 90 combined tackles. He came back for three games with the Patriots in 2001 to end his career. He totaled 173 combined tackles, one sack, two forced fumbles, three interceptions, a fumble recovery and 19 starts in 112 games.