Ole Miss QB Chad Kelly goes with draft's last pick, becomes 'Mr. Irrelevant' to Broncos

Senior writer

Sun, Apr 30, 2017, 1:03 AM

There was a moment during the NFL draft when cameras cut to Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly on his living room couch, slumped over to the side, the epitome of exhaustion and disappointment.

Chad Kelly's draft party looks pretty lit if you ask us. pic.twitter.com/qppiFr659M
— 120 Sports (@120Sports) April 29, 2017

Kelly fell hard in the draft and had to wait until the very end to hear his name called. Then the Denver Broncos selected him with the final pick of the draft, No. 253 overall, making Kelly this year’s “Mr. Irrelevant.”

Every year Newport Beach, California, hosts a celebration for Mr. Irrelevant. This one might be a little unusual, considering Kelly fell in the draft partially because of off-field concerns that contributed to him curiously being un-invited to the combine.

Kelly, the nephew of former Buffalo Bills great Jim Kelly, pleaded guilty to a non-criminal charge of disorderly conduct in January 2015 following an altercation nine months earlier outside a bar in Buffalo. The police report stated Kelly traded blows with two bouncers and said, “I’m going to go to my car and get my AK47 and spray this place.” Kelly also allegedly got into an altercation with police while being arrested.

That wasn’t all. Kelly was dismissed from Clemson’s team in 2014 for detrimental conduct. Last year Kelly was restrained during an on-field brawl during his brother’s high-school football game.

Kelly had mid-round talent, including a big arm, but off-field concerns and injury issues (he tore his ACL late last season and had surgery on an injured wrist this offseason) led to him nearly falling out of the draft.

But he didn’t completely fall out of the draft, and the benefit of being the last pick is Kelly can be a part of the Mr. Irrelevant party in California this offseason.

The Mr. Irrelevant week includes a parade and banquet for the final pick of the draft. That player also gets to visit Disneyland, visit a charity beneficiary of their choice, participate in a sailing regatta in Newport Harbor and go to a Los Angeles Dodgers or Los Angeles Angels game. The Mr. Irrelevant festivities have been going on for more than four decades.

Last year Mr. Irrelevant was Kalan Reed, a Southern Miss cornerback who was drafted by the Tennessee Titans. Reed started last season on the Titans’ practice squad, was promoted late in the season and appeared in four games.

Ryan Succop is the Mr. Irrelevant who has had the best NFL career. Succop was the last pick of the 2009 draft, and in eight seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and Titans he has hit 83.3 percent of his field-goal attempts. Last year he made 22-of-24 field-goal attempts for the Titans.

Kelly is one of the bigger names to be Mr. Irrelevant. He probably never thought he might almost fall completely out of the draft, but at least he gets to celebrate being last.