Mr. Irrelevant Hall of Fame: The Best Final Picks in NFL Draft History

There are only so many positions on an NFL team, and only so many spots for greatness.

The annual NFL draft is structured so that players taken in the later rounds, closer to rounds six or seven, are generally given small odds to make the team, barring injuries to starters.

The odds are stacked even further against players picked last in every draft; these players are given the moniker of "Mr. Irrelevant" and will have that label for the entirety of their career.

Several examples exist of late-round NFL draft picks well worth their draft selection (including many Hall of Famers), but what about the best picks to emerge from the last overall selection?

Here are the top 10, in our estimation.

10. FB John Tuggle (Giants in 1983)

Tuggle's tragically short career began with his last-overall selection by the New York Giants in 1983 after a successful career at fullback with Cal.

Tuggle fought hard to make the team and did so after several solid plays at special teams in the preseason. Tuggle made the team after an injury to the Giants' starting fullback in Week 12, and finished his rookie year with 49 yards, a touchdown, three receptions for 50 yards, and nine kick returns for 156 yards, being voted Special Teams Player of the Year by his teammates.

Tuggle's short career was ended by a battle with cancer the following year, but Tuggle's fight and grit, especially as a last-overall pick, will always be remembered, not the least by his high school in San Jose which holds an annual golf tournament in his honor to raise money for athletics.

9. FB Jim Finn (Giants in 1999)

Finn, 1999's "Mr. Irrelevant" was also taken by the Giants, and was also a fullback. Finn was a four-year letterman with the University of Pennsylvania, racking up the fourth-most rushing yards in school history (2,277).

The Giants took a chance on him, and Finn was mostly a blocking fullback in front of Tiki Barber, who rushed for a franchise record 1,860 yards behind Finn in 2005.

Finn was on injured reserve for the Giants' Super Bowl run in 2007, but he is a notable "Mr. Irrelevant" who made a solid career for himself, and has a Super Bowl ring to his name, thus cementing his place on this list.

8. OL/DT Bill Fischer (Chicago Cardinals in 1948)

Fischer is a controversial add to this list. Fischer was selected in 1948 by the Chicago Cardinals, but returned to Notre Dame for his junior year before being taken by the Cardinals once more in 1949, this time in the first round.

Fischer's drafting also took place before the NFL expanded, and that could put a damper on his legacy as a true "Mr. Irrelevant."

That said, Fischer became the first "Mr. Irrelevant" to make the NFL Pro Bowl, making three of them from 1950 to 1952, and the interior lineman recovered a whopping 10 fumbles in just 59 games.

7. LB Tae Crowder (Giants in 2020)

The Giants are all over this list. Crowder was their "Mr. Irrelevant" with the 255th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, and put together three solid years for the Giants, including 57 tackles in his rookie year.

Crowder started all 17 games and recorded a team-high 130 tackles during his sophomore year, along with two interceptions (including one off division rival Jalen Hurts) and a forced fumble. After a slight regression in 2022, he was waived and signed by the Steelers, but his career was never the same.

6. G Tyrone McGriff (Steelers in 1980)

McGriff was the last overall pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1980 draft, and one could argue he was the most successful "Mr. Irrelevant" prior to 1994.

McGriff, much like Crowder, had three solid years before taking his talents elsewhere, but from 1980 to 1982, he made the NFL All-Rookie Team as a guard, and held it down before moving to the upstart United States Football League (USFL) where he won a league title with the Michigan Panthers.

5. LB Marty Moore (Patriots in 1994)

Moore was "Mr. Irrelevant" of 1994, taken by the New England Patriots with the 222nd overall pick. Moore, a linebacker out of Kentucky, was a first-team All-SEC in 1993, where he helped lead Kentucky to a Peach Bowl appearance.

Moore played with New England in seven of his eight seasons in the NFL, totaling 133 solo tackles, 173 combined tackles, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.

The notable history with Moore, though, is before Finn won a Super Bowl ring with the Giants, Moore won a ring with the Patriots in the 2001 Super Bowl, becoming the first "Mr. Irrelevant" to play in a Super Bowl.

4. DB Michael Green (Bears in 2000)

Green was the "Mr. Irrelevant" of the first draft in the new millennium, being taken by the Chicago Bears in the seventh round. That didn't deter the Northwestern State product, who played from 2000 to 2008, and was once described as a "vital cog" in the Bears' secondary, where he played from 2000 to 2005.

Green recorded a 130-tackle season in 2002 that included 100 solo tackles, and followed it up with a 110-tackle season in 2004.

MORE: Where the Fastest 40-Yard-Dash Prospects Have Been Drafted

3. TE Jacque MacKinnon (Chargers in 1962)

MacKinnon is a notable exception to the rule that last-overall picks can't surprise teams. 1962's "Mr. Irrelevant" went to the Chargers with the 264th overall pick of the AFL draft, and was for a very long time the only last-overall pick to be selected as an All-Star.

MacKinnon came out of Colgate University as a halfback, but transitioned to tight end due to his blocking abilities, becoming one of two tight ends in the first "twin tight-end" formation in professional football.

In his long career that included two All-Star appearances and an AFL Championship, MacKinnon totaled 112 receptions, 2,109 receiving yards, and 22 touchdowns.

2. K Ryan Succop (Chiefs in 2009)

Succop is one of the more recognizable "Mr. Irrelevant" players, being selected with the 256th overall pick in the 2009 draft by the Kansas City Chiefs.

The NFL Draft doesn't reward special teams players as much as other positions, but Succop was a strong selection out of the University of South Carolina, where he was twice a second-team All-SEC, and scored 251 points, the 10th all time for a South Carolina player.

Succop finished his rookie year tied for the NFL record for highest field goal percentage by a rookie (86.2%) and ended his career with an 82.9% field goal rate, drilling 320 field goals in 386 attempts.

Succop was a staple kicker for the Chiefs, Titans, and Buccaneers over a 14-year NFL career, and played an integral role in the Buccaneers' win in Super Bowl LV, becoming the first "Mr. Irrelevant" to play and win a Super Bowl as an active player.

1. QB Brock Purdy (49ers in 2022)

Purdy is already the best "Mr. Irrelevant" in NFL history, and it's not particularly close. Purdy had slim-to-none odds of making a difference as a three-time All-Big 12 quarterback out of Iowa State, but injuries to Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance (the San Francisco 49ers' first-round pick in 2021) set the table for Purdy to perform, and perform he did.

Purdy, the 262nd overall pick, was listed in a scouting report by a team that didn't draft him as being "limited in strength and throw repertoire."

That didn't stop Purdy, who slotted into Kyle Shanahan's system impeccably, leading the 49ers to the 2022 NFC Championship Game after being named the starter in Week 13. Purdy's passer rating of 119.4 was the highest for a quarterback in his first five starts since Kurt Warner in 1999. Purdy made the PFWA All-Rookie Team, and took home two Rookie of the Month nods.

Purdy's encore in 2023 was even better, as he threw for 4,280 yards, 31 touchdowns, and just 11 interceptions, posting an NFL-best passer rating and 12-4 record en route to a Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs.

Purdy's accolades go on: he's the fastest 49ers quarterback to achieve 50 career touchdowns, and made the Pro Bowl in his breakout 2023 season. He may have been last in 2022, but he was certainly not the least.