6 Days - NFL Draft Day

Today is Earth Day. It is also NFL Draft Day.

In celebration of both holidays, I'm wearing my official Kansas City Chiefs polo. I had never worn a Chiefs Polo until last summer, and let me tell you, I love it. It's different from wearing a t-shirt or a jersey. I feel very official, like when I put on this polo I know things about football that I otherwise do not. And the people who see me wearing my Chiefs polo know that, too. "That guy has a Chiefs polo. He's a serious fan." I like to think that if I tucked my polo into pair of pleated khakis and put on a pair of white sneakers, I could easily make my way into a coaches' meeting or even onto the field.

I found the polo in a pile of old clothes that someone was giving away. One man's trash...

There is actually a term for this in the NFL Draft. The very last player chosen in each draft is labeled "Mr. Irrelevant". The idea is that the last player chosen in the draft is kind of a novelty. He will make no impact as a professional football player. He's almost unwanted.

Last year the Chiefs had the final selection in the NFL Draft. "With the 256th pick in the NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs select...Ryan Succop, kicker, University of South Carolina."

Mr. Irrelevant is celebrated with a trophy and an entire week-long event in Newport Beach California. It's a charity event, and it's also a way of celebrating a guy that probably won't make it much longer as a football player. (Side note: In 1967, Jimmy Walker was Mr. Irrelevant. Just weeks later, he was the number one overall pick in the NBA.)

But every now and then one of those last picks in the draft makes an impact.

As it turned out, Ryan Succop was one of those rookies. Succop became KC's starting kicker, and by the time the season was over, he had kicked a lot of field goals. In fact, he kicked more field goals than any rookie in Chiefs history. He also tied the NFL record for field goal percentage for a rookie. The Chiefs won only 4 games in 2009, but Succop had a huge hand in those wins. In week 6, he accumulated all of KC's offensive points by himself, and in week 11 he kicked the game winning field goal in overtime. Succop was Kansas City's rookie of the year.

Mr. Irrelevant was very relevant.

What does all this mean? First, It means that sometimes the draft is a crapshoot. Yes, there are reasons that the players that are taken at the beginning of the draft are taken at the beginning of the draft. People believe that they will be exceptional football players at the pro level, and to some degree they have proven that. But sometimes people, and things, just fly under the radar. They were good all along, and no one noticed.

And sometimes you just get surprised. All of a sudden, someone who is relatively unknown steps into the spotlight. Many of the characters we find lovable in movies, books, and TV shows have at least a hint of this to their stories.

Junk. Late draft picks. Ryan Succop. Mr. Irrelevant. My Chiefs polo.