‘Mr. Irrelevant’ is a nickname for the last and overall pick out of the NFL draft. This year, the University of Alabama’s Jaylen Key received the nickname; he’s now headed to play for the New York Jets as a safety. Coming out of high school, he was rated a 3-star defensive back, and by the end of his junior year, Key committed to the University of Alabama-Birmingham and started off his collegiate career there.
He came into UAB as a cornerback, but during his redshirt season in 2018, he ended up switching his position over to being a safety. During his season in 2022, Key was able to pull together some amazing stats for the Dragons with 60 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and 3 interceptions. He ended that season with the Honorable Mention All-Conference USA title, shining light on the name.
Even despite constantly being redshirted throughout his time in college football, Key was able to prove to himself that he can play his final year of eligibility at a better level. Even though the University of Alabama-Birmingham is a division one level college, not much attention was on the team. In Key’s final year of eligibility, he ended up entering the transfer portal and signed to The University of Alabama.
Key ended up making it onto the Crimson Tide starting lineup as a safety right away, and made an impact in his first game with an interception against Middle Tennessee. For Key, the biggest change he had felt was with the opponents that he faced during his final year. He felt like he was up against a significantly higher level of competition and was ready to shine for his last year, no matter where it led him.
“For me, it was just about preparing for the next level,” Key said in an interview with Sports Illustrated. “Finding the best place for me to do that as far as coming somewhere where the staff, the whole building just really accepts you, really helps you come in and make it as comfortable as possible… the people here are next to none.”
During his only season at Alabama, Key started in all 12 games for the Crimson Tide. His stats for that season were 60 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and 2 passes defensed. In 2023, Key also helped Alabama to an SEC championship and scored a spot in the College Football Playoffs.
Throughout the last couple of NFL seasons, the “Mr. Irrelevant” nickname has been proven wrong in many ways. In the 2022 Draft, the name was given to Brock Purdy, who came out of Iowa State University, and showed up this previous season as a QB for the San Francisco 49ers. When given that title the best you could do is show why being “Mr. Irrelevant” isn’t so irrelevant.
