The 2011 NFL Draft was greeted by boos directed at NFL commish Roger Goodell and Cam Newton being the first named called at the No. 1 overall spot. Then 254 picks later it ended with Rice defensive end Cheta Ozougwu being drafted by the Houston Texans to become this year’s Mr. Irrelevant.

Since the mid 70’s, the “honor” of being the final choice has included a week of festivities that includes an Irrelevant Week in Southern Cal where the player is given a trophy of a player fumbling a ball.

The trophy pictured here is the one that was awarded to linebacker David Vobora in 2008 who started five games in St. Louis last season.

In an interview later after the being chosen, Ozougwu said: “It’s funny. I had no idea it’d be me but I’m definitely thankful for it. I just wanted the opportunity to play the game.”

The biggest trade in the draft was when the Atlanta Falcons gave away the farm to move up and draft WR Julio Jones at No. 6 after their main target A.J. Green went at No. 4 overall. The Falcons five draft picks seems like a very steep price to pay the Cleveland Browns just to move up.

Other highlights were seeing D lineman Nick Fairley drop all the way onto the Detroit Lions lap at No. 13 and Da’Quan Bowers all the way to No. 51 to Tampa Bay after both players were months earlier considered a No. 1 pick in several people’s mock drafts.

And BTW, only some of these rookies were able to get to their team’s facilities in time to pick up playbooks and chat with coaches before an appeals judge sided with the league and owners and allowed the lockout to resume.

See the full 2011 NFL Draft results and player bios at Yahoo! Sports.

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

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