Georgia receiver Kris DurhamAt least “Mr. Irrelevant” will know his destination.
When the final seventh-round pick of the 2011 NFL draft is announced April 30, and the last player chosen is traditionally tagged Mr. Irrelevant, all will go quiet. Because of the current lockout, there will be no free-agent signings in the minutes, hours and days following the draft’s conclusion.
“Once the draft is over, then it becomes very strange,” ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said.
Former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, former Alabama defensive tackle Marcell Dareus and former Georgia receiver A.J. Green are first-round certainties and will learn their future NFL locations on April 28, when the draft opens. Another Georgia receiver, Kris Durham, approaches next week assured of nothing.
Durham had a productive senior season with 32 receptions for 659 yards and three touchdowns, and he turned in 40-yard dash times of 4.46 and 4.49 seconds during pro day in Athens late last month. The 6-foot-5, 216-pounder from Calhoun, Ga., was not invited to the NFL combine in February and is a free agent according to most projections, but it would not be a shock if he slipped into the draft as a late-round selection.