While people get excited about the NFL Draft, many people do not really know too much about the history of the NFL Draft. I have been really going back in and breaking down the NFL Draft’s over the past few weeks. I have been getting tons of requests on Twitter and via email to keep getting our followers some Cold Hard Facts on the NFL Draft. Well I thought I would talk about the first and last picks in the draft. That is right, the best projected players in the draft, and the final selections with Mr. Irrelevant. So find after the jump you will find out some facts, that you might not have know about.
Blast from the Past: Facts about the First and Last NFL draft picks
Facts about the First Pick in the NFL Draft
A total of 12 first overall picks have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
A total of 29 first overall picks have been Pro Bowlers.
Did you know: The Baltimore / Indianapolis Colts have had the most first overall draft picks, with 6.
As of the 2011 NFL Draft, a total of 76 players have been selected first overall.
The #1 pick with the most years of service to the NFL is Vinny Testaverde. He finished his 21-year career with 214 starts. Teams he graced finished 90-123.
There have been six instances in history when teams picked number one overall in back to back drafts. These were the Cleveland Browns (1999-2000), Cincinnati Bengals (1994-95), Tampa Ba Buccaneers (twice 1976-77, 1986-87), Chicago Cardinals (1939-40), and Philadelphia Eagles (1936-37)
Only five first overall draft pick players have been selected the NFL Rookie of the Year: Earl Campbell (1978); Billy Sims (1980); George Rogers (1981); Sam Bradford (2010); and Cam Newton (2011).
Did you know this fact… The Buffalo Bills held the first pick in the 1985 NFL Draft and signed defensive end Bruce Smith out of Virginia Tech weeks before the draft. On April 9, 1985, Mike Lynn, the general manager of the Minnesota Vikings traded two picks to the Houston Oilers to move up to the second spot in the draft in preparation of Bernie Kosar's announcement that he would enter the draft. Later on the same day, Cleveland traded their first round picks in the 1985 NFL Draft (#7) and 1986 NFL Draft, their third round pick in 1985 (#63) and their sixth round pick in 1986 to the Buffalo Bills for their first round pick in the 1986 NFL Draft. Since the Bills had the worst record in the 1984 season, they held the first pick in both the regular NFL draft and the supplemental draft in 1985. When a selection is used in the supplemental draft, that team forfeits the pick in the next regular draft which meant that the Browns could use the Bills 1986 regular draft first round pick as the first pick in the 1985 supplemental draft.
Now, here are some facts about the last and final pick of the NFL Draft....Mr. Irrelevant
The term Mr. Irrelevant was coined in 1976 in reference to the final player selected.
Jimmy Walker was the final pick in 1967 despite never having played college football. His main sport, however, was basketball, in which he was a consensus All-American and the nation’s leading scorer as a senior at Providence. Walker was the first overall pick in the 1967 NBA Draft, and opted for a career in the NBA.
Special team’s player Marty Moore became the first Mr. Irrelevant to play in a Super Bowl, with the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI.
The first Mr. Irrelevant was Kelvin Kirk, pick number 487 of the 1976 draft who was a wide receiver from Dayton University.
There have been 3 teams that have had multiple players named Mr. Irrelevant. Did you know that Colorado, Northwestern State (LA) and Weber State have all had 2 players drafted as Mr. Irrelevant
2009 winner Ryan Succop became the starting kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs. He went on to tie the NFL record for highest field goal percentage by a rookie in a season with 86.2%, and also passed NFL Hall of Famer Jan Stenerud for most field goals made by a rookie in Chiefs history.
Did you know that it was Paul Salata, a Wide Receiver from USC who really was the one given credit for founding the Mr. Irrelevant name. Salata has actually announced the last pick in the Draft every year since he started it in 1976.
Chandler Harnish was the 6th Quarterback taken as Mr. Irrelevant this year when he was selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the last pick in the draft.
Not only does Mr. Irrelevant get an entire week called Irrelevant week, he is given the Lowsman Trophoy, which is like the Heisman Trophy but the Trophy actually has a the runner fumbling the ball.
To find out more about the NFL and get draft facts, follow me on twitter @drocksthaparty
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