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Mr Irrelevant
by Jody Jamieson
2/5/2008
 I thought it would be fun to wrap up our Scouting of the 2008 Draft prospects by looking at someone who no-one bothered to cover, but we’ll all now have a little interest in. David Vobora was the 252nd and last pick of the Draft this past weekend, thus making him the latest “Mr Irrelevant” hoping to make a roster. The St Louis Rams drafted him, and while I don’t expect him to ever be a starter in the NFL, Vobora actually has a good chance of making and staying on the roster. If he can stay on the roster he’d be the second Mr Irrelevant in a row to see playing time in his rookie year. Ramzee Robinson was last year’s last pick, and he got a couple of appearances for the Detriot Lions. He even recorded a couple of special teams tackles.
For those not familiar with the tradition of Mr Irrelevant, while obviously there has been a last pick of the Draft since it began, it wasn’t recognised as any sort of “achievement” till former NFL wide receiver Paul Sagata founded “Irrelevant Week” where the last pick in the Draft would be treated to his own parade in Newport Beach, California. He is invited for a roast dinner and given advice on how to make the team. At the end of the dinner he is presented with the extremely tongue-in-cheek “Lowsman Trophy” which is an obvious play on the Heisman Trophy, except this time the trophy shows the player fumbling the football.
Mr Irrelevants of the past have made decent careers for themselves in some instances. 1978’s Mr Irrelevant made an appearance at the 1983 Pro Bowl. Billy Kenney, a quarterback selected by the Dolphins, was picked up by Kansas City, won the starting job, and was voted to the ’83 Pro Bowl. Marty Moore, Mr Irrelevant in 1994, was a special teams player at Superbowl XXXI, thus becoming the first Mr Irrelevent to play on the biggest stage of them all. Most recently the last pick of the 1999 Draft, fullback Jim Finn, was a long time starter for the New York Giants, till he was placed on injured reserve last season and missed the run to the Super Bowl. When Finn regains full health, he has a chance to start somewhere else.
But anyway, back to Vobora, and his prospects of making something of his career. I’ve spent the last couple of days scouring the internet for any game film I can find, and this is what I’ve come up with. Trust me, there’s very little film! There’s a little bit on NFL.com, showing him making a very athletic interception and 2 great tackles. Other than that, it’s hard to go on much else!
What we like about Vobora
For all we may laugh about the guy, he will probably end up being a solid special teams player for someone, be it St Louis or not. He has a good motor and never takes a play off. Is quite a reliable tackler in the open field. He’ll do a pretty decent job in coverage. He has decent timed speed. Pretty athletic.
Question Marks about Vobora
Despite some good college numbers, he didn’t come up against the best competition. Must get stronger to compete at the next level. At 6’1″ and 220 lbs, will need to get bigger to have any chance of seeing time as a linebacker. When coming up against better players in the Shrine Game, Vobora put in a disappointing performance.
Highlight of his college career
Despite seeing little time in his freshman year, Vobora’s stats are actually pretty impressive. He recorded 330 tackles in his college career, and is credited with 28 tackles for a loss throughout his 4 year stint in Idaho.
Other snippets
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Various Combine Stats: 6.99 sec 2 cone drill, 4.14 sec 20 yard shuttle (2nd among all linebackers) and 11.73 sec 60 yard shuttle.
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If there is ever a movie made about this year’s Mr Irrelevant, the man himself bizzarely hopes Denzel Washington will play David Vobora!
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He was invited to the East-Wast Shrine game due to his intruiging “instincts and speed”.
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At Winston Churchill High School, Vobora player many positions. He spent time playing quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, linebacker and safety in his time in school.
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Vobora was a big Green Bay Packers fan growing up, and lists Brett Favre as his football idol.
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