Its been five months but the sting of losing a playoff game to a Mr. Irrelevant still stings. The 49ers drafted quarterback Brock Purdy with the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.
All the rookie did was come in for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo to lead San Francisco over Miami before winning all five games as a starter.
After beating Dallas in the Divisional round, he was a torn UCL away from leading his team to a Super Bowl. Not bad for Mr. Irrelevant.
Which begs the questions: Have the Cowboys ever taken the very last player in a draft? How have they fared? Let’s find out.
A Pair Of Mr. Irrelevants
Despite winning five Super Bowls – which usually translates into having that final pick in the next year’s draft – the Cowboys have only taken two Mr. Irrelevants in 63 drafts.
They traded away their final round picks following all three 1990s Super Bowl victories. Jimmy Johnson seemingly had little use for those picks.
But in the 1970s, Dallas held the final overall pick and they used them. In 1972, they took defensive tackle Alfonso Cain out of Bethune-Cookman with the 442nd pick at the end of the 17th round.
In 1978, they selected guard Lee Washburn out of Montana with the 334th pick at the end of the 12th round. Neither played a down of football in the NFL.
Washburn suffered a back injury before training camp even began and was cut. Cain was also an early camp casualty. Cain passed away in 2009.
The Supplemental Men
The Cowboys have closed out the NFL Draft back when there was still a supplemental draft. On four occasions they took the very last player.
In 1989 Dallas selected running back Mike Loman out of Coffeyville Community College (KS) in the 12th round. He never played a down of NFL football and remains the only player from his school ever drafted.
In 1994 the Cowboys selected tight end John Davis in the 5th round out of Emporia State (KS), the same school Leon Lett attended.
But unlike Lett, Davis never played for Dallas. He did go on to play six seasons in the NFL from 1997-2002.
The next year Dallas took defensive tackle Darren Benson out of Trinity Community College (TX). Despite being selected in the third round, Benson was both the first and last player taken in that year’s supplemental draft.
Benson played a total of 12 games for Dallas, six each in 1995 and 1997. He finished with seven total tackles and one Super Bowl ring.
The Tragic Last Pick
The Cowboys made the last pick in 2010, that coming in seventh round. Defensive tackle Josh Brent arrived from Illinois with some question marks.
But through three seasons it looked like the Cowboys had found a diamond in the rough. He had 16 total tackles in his rookie season as a backup.
After a dismal sophomore campaign of six tackles in 11 games, Brent rebounded in 2012. Starting in five of his 12 games that year, Brent had 22 tackles, 1.5 sacks, defended a pass, and forced a fumble.
But just when it seemed Brent had found his niche he made a fatal choice. Only hours before Dallas was to face the Bengals on their 13th game of the season, Brent crashed his car on a Texas highway.
The accident resulted in the death of teammate Jerry Brown. Brent was eventually convicted of intoxication manslaughter and was subsequently sentenced to 180 days in prison and ten years’ probation.
After missing the 2013 season, Brent returned from the Suspended list and played in one game. He had two tackles in a 41-28 win at Chicago. He never saw the field again and retired for good in 2015.
Tomorrow: The Cowboys’ history of final players drafted.